Super Smash Bros 3D
by Epic Networks
Summary: A fan-based novelization based on the upcoming Smash Bros 3DS game about a teenage intrepid who accidentally summons the entire Nintendo cast of characters to New York City after stealing a special limited-edition Nintendo 3DS from Corporate. Prequel to Super Smash Bros. Universe. OCs invite closed. Boxing season is upon us, and it's right in the middle of Luigi's birthday bash.
1. SSB3D: Cast of Characters and OCs

**Disclaimer**: The Smash Bros. series and the upcoming game Super Smash Bros. 3D belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

**Story Bio**: The next Super Smash Bros., making its way to Planet Earth... literally.

When Jace Riders, the troublemaking nephew of a Nintendo Corp. software engineer, steals from the company a special limited-edition 3DS console, and the game demo of _Super Smash Bros. 3D_ (full game not yet out in the market), he immediately uncovers that he brandished a magical 3DS and accidentally unleashes an interdimensional rift of time and space that collides both the Nintendo World with the Real World, putting him responsible for the fate of two worlds.

Main story mostly takes place in New York City, with some occasional world travels and Nintendo world travels in between.

xXx

* * *

**OC Invitation::**

**The OC invitation is now officially closed. Check out below for the final roster!**

**xXx**

**Original Characters**

_These are characters created by me. They are FICTIONAL. From my imagination only. They are NOT based on real people!_

**xxx Main Characters xxx**

**Name: ****Jacen 'Jace' Riders (aka Takahashi Madhan)  
**

**_Age_****: **19

**_Ethnicity_**: -Half-Italian/Half-Japanese-American  
**_Look_**: -About 5'6''. Has black hair styled as a funky Mohawk, with some brown highlight on the back of the hair, his eyes are a bit slanted and sharp, olive-colored, and is average-build; sports brand-new Elixir blue-yellow flannel plaid shirt, rippled loose jeans, white and black DC flawless sneakers. Has puka shell necklace with the Smash symbol in the middle and a black punk wristband.

**_Personality_**: -Extroverted bad boy with a rebellious, foolhardy, and energetic personality. Very friendly, but very superstitious. He has a deathly fear of anything supernatural.

**Bio**: The main character of the story. Rebellious, foolhardy, and energetic, he is the Japanese-Italian-American nephew of Nintendo HQ's engineer Dr. Dimentio hailing from New York City. Nicknamed Jace, he loves video games, which makes him an expert player in all Nintendo games, including the Smash Bros series. After stealing a magical 3DS from headquarters, he accidentally unleashes a world full of wonders he has always believed to be real, but not THAT real. When he's not playing video games, he's on the streets seeking thrills everyday to keep him going, even if they end up getting him in trouble and in jail just as much as he spends his days in the mall. Born in Italy but raised in Japan, his real name is Takahashi Madhan, which he changed immediately once he settled in the US.

**xXx**

**Name: ****Hunter 'Hunt' Long**

**_Age_****: **19

**_Ethnicity_**: -Japanese American.  
**_Look_**: -About 5'3'', dirty blond bob-emo hairstyle, large and comical eyes like Gohan in DBZ, slim build, sports a milk-chocolate long-sleeve shirt with a beige sweater vest, dark brown dress pants and shoes.

**_Personality_**: -Shy, uptight, and always wants to do things by the book. He is very intelligent and very organized. But he is very easily-frightened compared to his comrades Jace and Jenn.

**Bio**: Jace's Japanese best friend since pre-K. He's an intelligent guy who was lucky enough to go with Jace to the Nintendo HQ in Japan and check out the limited edition 3DS. Unlike Jace, he is uptight, tends to panic under pressure, and always gets Jace out of tough situations. Despite all that stress with Jace, Hunt sees him as a cool guy who has always been there for him… and is always the one who ends up pulling Jace out of tough situations… that is if he can find the resources to do so.

**xXx**

**Name**: **Jennifer 'Jenn' Dimentio**

**_Age_****: **19

**_Ethnicity_**: -Italian-American  
**_Look_**: -About 5'6'', has light brunette hair reaching mid-length and is in wavy style with some blonde highlights. She sports a designer dark-blue blouse and fancy puma prints harem pants and brown boots.

**_Personality_**: -A born-pleaser, straight-A student, a perfectionist at art and very spitfire. She loves fashion and is very creative. She gets paranoid when some of her creations are being jeopardized, especially by her cousin.

**Bio**: Jace's spitfire Italian-American cousin who is a born-pleaser, a straight-A student, and a perfectionist at heart who pays close attention to detail. Nicknamed Jenn, she has a passion for fashion and video games as she has worked with her engineer father Dr. Dimentio on the design of the Limited-edition Smash Bros. 3DS portable. Since then she has praised herself for the accomplishment and has been obsessed with keeping it safe and secure and would totally freak out if anything bad happened to it. Of course she had to deal with her rebellious cousin just to make sure the 3DS is safe. Jenn is the type of girl who doesn't take no for an answer.

**xXx**

**Name: ****Simon**

**_Age_****: **Unknown

**_Ethnicity_**: -Unknown  
**_Look_**: -PHYSICAL APPEARANCE TBD. Wears a white graphic buttoned shirt with the Smash symbol embroidered with wings on the upper-chest and the back, graphic faded jeans, silver belt with chains around the pockets, leather shoes, and a black punk wristband. Carries two Glock 26s.

**_Personality_**: -Introverted bad boy. Bold, courageous, but dark and prickly at times. Likes to toy with his enemies; but carries a strong sense of justice.

**Bio**: Simon is the only OC to come from the Nintendo World. More information about him will be revealed in 2012.

**xXx**

**Name: ****Dr. Dimentio  
**

**_Age_****: **45

**_Ethnicity_**: -Italian-American  
**_Look_**: -Blue mid-length hair that rested down on his shoulders, wore specs, and was about 6'7''. Though he had high cheekbones that made him looked middle age, he still looked fresh, like he was in his 30s. Wears a white lab coat over his blue dress shirt and fancy black pants and dress shoes.

**_Personality_**: -Uptight, hard-working and really smart.

**Bio**: Dr. Dimentio is the uncle of Jace and the father of Jenn. He works for Nintendo Corp. as the main engineer and he was somehow secretly involved in the creation of the magic 3DS from the Nintendo World. So he carries a strong relationship with the Smash Bros. After the Nintendo characters' invasion to New York City, he secretly created the 3rd Dimensional Lounge in the basement of the Nintendo World Store in New York.

**xxx Recurring and Guest Characters xxx**

**-Chauncey and Price: **Jace's racing rivals. Debuts in the first episode.  
**-Mel and Nina: **Jenn's BFFs turned frenemies.  
**-Mr. Saki:** An executive at Nintendo Corp.**  
-Mr. Oiji: **An executive at Nintendo Corp.**  
-Pac Micchio:** A videogame analyst whose hated by gamers everywhere.**  
-****Jamey Stachio 'aka Mr. Stachio': **A British celebrity, entrepreneur, fashion connoisseur extraordinaire who invited the Smash Bros. at a fashion show. He HATES being called a girl.

**xxx Submitted Original Characters – Final Roster xxx**

_These are characters belonging to other readers by their approved consents. They DON'T belong to me. They are FICTIONAL. From their imaginations only, and they are NOT based on real people! Thanks readers for your submission.  
_

**xXx**

**Name: ****Patricia 'Pat' Turner  
**_(HorrorGurlxOxO)_

**_Age_****: **16

**_Ethnicity_**: -African American  
**_Look_**: -Slightly dark skin with honey brown eyes. She sports a dark-purple bluish blouse and some nice blue denim jeans. She also sports a rose tattoo on her back.

**_Personality_**: -Pat is a very outgoing and headstrong girl who's love for adventure keeps her optimistic attitude in check. Although she may be a little sarcastic and naive, but she's very protective of the people she cares about.

**Bio**: Patricia is an average young girl who has a great love for video games and traveling. She can tell you what's going to be out before anyone else and most of the time she's right about them. She claims jokingly that it's her '6th sense'. She loves adventuring, and expects that one day she will have one whether big or small. But she still has to finish high school before that happens.

But what she didn't expect was that her adventures would relate to the Super Smash Bros. 3D world that Jace has apparently unleashed.

**Nintendo-Team: **Legend of Zelda Series

**xXx**

**Name: ****Maple Reid  
**_(Kirbella)_

**_Age_****: **13

**_Ethnicity_**: -Irish  
**_Look_**: -Has straight, brown, shoulder length hair with a fringe, blue eyes, freckles and pale skin. She wears an orange mop hat, a white hoodie with an orange star pattern on it, black gloves and leggings, and orange trainers.

**_Personality_**: -Energetic, tomboyish, and adventurous. She has a very short temper and can get very violent. She can act cocky, can be quirky and hates all girly things but still can be friendly and fun. She is a very good Nintendo video gamer.

**Bio**: Maple had a normal life, too normal in her case. She spent the time like other children and got bored of her usual lifestyle, other than playing her Nintendo games, since they gave her a break from reality and let her go on different adventures. When her parents told her that they were going on holiday in NYC however, Maple couldn't wait to go and explore the place, or try to get a new game or two.

**Nintendo-Team: **Kirby Series

**xXx**

**Name: ****Hans  
**_(link5604)_

**_Age_****: **17

**_Ethnicity_**: -Asian  
**_Look_**: An Asian teenage boy at the height of 5'10". He has short dark brown hair and a mixture of blue and green eyes. He is usually caught wearing blue shorts, white undershirt, boxing shoes, and a pair of black boxing gloves.

**_Personality_**: -Hans is a hard worker and is always willing to give a helping hand, though he is kinda naive. He isn't quick to anger, but once he is it gets pretty messy. And he does not care about the opponent in front of him, he may seem evil, heatless and cruel but he lost once and he hated it with all his guts.

**Bio**: Inspired to box at a young age, thanks to Punch-Out Mike Tyson, Hans has spent most of his free time training to become a professional boxer. At the age of 17 Hans becomes the Japanese Rookie Champion in the Featherweight Division. Soon after he travels to America for the World Rookie Championship Title, once there he meets Jace and agrees to help him while he is in America with his "little problem".

**Nintendo-Team: **Punch-Out Series

**xXx**

**Name: ****Noir Deroi  
**_(Beauty and the Freak)_

**_Age_****: **18

**_Ethnicity_**: -Spanish  
**_Look_**: Noir is about 5'10" with dark brown hair that reaches his shoulders with a single dark blue streak in his hair. His usual attire consists of a white dress shirt that is loosely worn, black jeans and a silver chain that hooks onto his belt.

**_Personality_**: Noir is apathetic to most people aside from those who know him well enough. Because of his father's position in Nintendo Corp. he has a tendency to look down upon people and is commented to be arrogant sometimes. That aside, Noir is also known for being manipulative and be deceiving to others. He's not afraid of using others to get what he wants and the results don't matter to him. He often says that people are pawns and he's a king. (He's referring to chess)

**Bio**: The main villain! Noir is a son of a Nintendo Corp. executive and his mother was a  
respective actress in the acting world. He grew up without spending much time with his father and his mother raised him until she passed away two years prior to the incident. He helps out occasionally at Nintendo Corp. and checks out the case about the missing 3DS and the game from a request of his father. Discovering what Jace has done, Noir decided to use this to his advatnage and now has a plan in mind…

**Nintendo-Team: **(The Main Villains Team: Bowser, Ganondorf, Dedede, and Mewtwo)

**xXx  
**

**Name: ****Harry Hanswood  
**_(link5604)_

**_Age_****: **42

**_Ethnicity_**: -Japanese.  
**_Look_**: -A rich looking guy, always whering a suit and a big cigarette in his mouth. He may seem fat, but he is just big boned. A red hair that is always combed back, and has dark black eyes, and the heigth of 6' 8".

**_Personality_**: -A spoiled brat who got whatever he wanted. Intelligent and cunning, but can have an undying thirst for revenge.

**Bio**: At the age of 20 he left his parents and started his very own black market. Since, he was so greedy and power-hungry that he became the best of the best marketers in the black market. He soon became a coach for boxers, and gambled on them with people at the bar, ring, just about anywhere. So in other words he fixed the matches to sneak in millions of dollars off these guys to his pockets. He gave up his black market business. Things were great for Harry for almost 20 years.

But at the age of 42, he lost over 4.2 million dollars off of one match: the Japanese Featherweight Championship! The one which Hans won. Since then, he kept losing bets over and over again. Hans didn't know it but Mr. Hanswood was after his life. So Harry travels to America and finds some people to use to kill Hans and regain his lucky streak.

**Nintendo-Team: **Punch-Out Series Villains

**xXx**

**Name: ****Ryan Somith  
**_(janniejam)_

**_Age_****: **20

**_Ethnicity_**: -Italian  
**_Look_**: -Ryan is around 5 ft and is skinny. Has short black hair and brown eyes.  
Usually wears a cape and a hacked power glove that gives whoever wears it  
extra strength.

**_Personality_**: -Most people think that he is a little insane. But he doesn't  
think so. He is very determined to achieve his goals and to get people to do  
what he says. He can be quite harsh and greedy at times as well. The only time  
he is happy is when he has achieved something. Gets angered easily and wants  
revenge on everything and everyone that has made him upset. He is very envious  
as well.

**Bio**: Not much is known about him. He is a very skilled hacker and uses this skill to his advantage whenever he plays video games. He is a very hardcore gamer and has just about every console and game to exist. He also is very smart and invents stuff that he uses to give him power, both online and offline, such as the power glove mentioned earlier and the Nintendo zapper that can actually zap people which he always keeps in his utility belt. His goal is to conquer every leader board and tournament to exist in the video game world. Also is very skilled in Kung- Fu despite his lack of strength. But what if the Nintendo world actually existed and came into his life? He'd try to take over it of course!

**Nintendo-Team: **Fire Emblem Series

**xXx**

**Name: ****Remi Skyhawk  
**_(Mace the Manakete)_

**_Age_****: **26

**_Ethnicity_**: Light-skinned African American

**_Look_**: -Clean-shaven and buzzcut hair, and wears a blue and white race car uniform. The white color is at the shoulder-length and from the torso to the pants is light-blue. Sports a stylish sunglasses with a tattoo on its sides, wears black leather gloves and white boots.

**_Personality_**: -A thrill-seeker, pompous, competitive arrogant young man who always wants to win and always gets it.

**Bio**: A celebrity on the race track, and 5-time champion on the F-1 Grandprix. When he's not racing, he's racing... with his favorite video game F-Zero. He was cruising on the highway with his buddies one time when he saw the Falcon Flier zooming past him. He told his friends about it and they didn't believe him. But Remi, as determined as he is to prove to them that what he saw was real, decide to investigate. Why Captain Falcon, of all video game characters, is seen racing in REAL LIFE?

**Nintendo-Team: **F-Zero Series

**xXx**

**Name: ****Stefano 'Signore' Vermichello  
**_(Mace the Manakete)_

**_Age_****: **48

**_Ethnicity_**: -Italian (with a heavy accent)  
**_Look_**: -Scruffy-looking with a short white beard and white hair combed to one  
side, heavy-looking, always wears a four-piece Armani suit, a fancy trenchcoat attached behind like a cape, a ruby ring on his right pinkie finger, and a cane with a gold snakehead at the top.

**_Personality_**: Ruthless, cold-hearted, sadistic, but patient and overly curious and a wiz in technology (despite his age)

**Bio**: Called the Signore. A Nintendo executive stationed in Europe; and owner of 300 stocks and bonds from 300 companies, as well as 300 mansions across the world, he is considered the all-powerful businessman in the universe according to Forbes Magazine, and is nicknamed the Signore. But Stefano's greed run has not stopped him yet. He longs for the day he can run the Nintendo Company as he had once run other previous companies including its competitors.

He was called to an emergency conference meet following the news of the 3DS theft reached all locations and Stefano took that opportunity to run the business, and according to his words, set this matter resolved. Of course, after he was granted that privilege to run the business by the other executives, Stefano soon learns of the limited-edition 3DS's capabilities when he discovered Medusa, and thanks to her appearance on Earth he soon believes it could be the key to perfect human happiness and global world domination.

**Nintendo-Team: **Kid Icarus Series Villains

**xxx Submitted Original Characters – Recurring xxx**

-**Helio** (silvermane34)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Wario and Waluigi  
-**Nerphi 'Glyph' Peterson** (PhanteramonX)- - - - - - - - - - Donkey Kong Series  
-**Sophia** (ScarletScythe)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Golden Sun Series  
-**Anna Ergos** (janniejam)- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Pokemon-Series**  
-Hopel Darmon** (Geek-with-Glasses-82) - - - - - - - - - - - - - Kid Icarus Series


	2. Prol:: Premiere in 3D

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Smash Bros.

**Author's Note: **This is a revised version of the story. To those who reported this story prior and made the admins delete it, please run by me first on what needs to be change before making such move. I don't blame the admins because they are only following their duties, but I'd like to get some feedback. If there's anything that is wrong with the story, and any other stories I post, please let me know first and I'll make the changes. Thank you. :)

Now onto the revised version of Smash Bros. 3D. You can also find this story on DeviantArt and on Wattpad for your convenience. All the chapters have been rewritten and improved and may include new scenes and such. New chapters are still coming up. Links available on my profile page. Enjoy :)

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Premiere in 3D_

* * *

"JAAAAAAAACCCCCCCE!"

A frantic yet girlish scream caught all the attention of Shibuya, Tokyo. The onlookers, who were right about to cross the streets of Scramble Crossing before the stoplights could turn green, spun their heads toward the direction of the scream and caught a glimpse of a star blinking from the distant road, giving the sense that something was coming toward them.

Suddenly, they saw two Porsche: a red and a blue, coming at them full speed.

Eeeeeeeeeee-AAAAAAAAAAA-KKKKKKK! The onlookers ran out of the way screaming back to the curb and watched the Porsches zoom right past them, barely knocking some of them outta the way. The Porsches took off leaving behind the rebellious howling of four teenagers and a powerful gust of wind that almost carried them off their feet.

Then the onlookers heard sirens, and watched blue and red lights flashing simultaneously like crazy. About four or five police cars and a motorbike were hot on the Porsches' pursuit!

_WAO! WAO! WAO! WAO! WAO! WAO!_

"STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP! STOOOOOHP!" screamed a girlish voice, which actually belonged to Hunter Long. Hunt for short. He was one of the two teenage guys from inside the blue Porsche on the passenger's seat and about 5'1 in height. His hands were gripping tightly onto his seatbelt, his geeky chestnut eyes under bug-eyed glasses stared terrifyingly at the road ahead and his dirty blond hair beating strongly through the violent wind which he couldn't see through. He wore a milk-chocolate long-sleeve shirt with a beige sweater vest, dark brown dress pants and shoes.

"Whoa, Chillax Hunt!" shouted his friend who was driving the car. He was 5'6'', had his black hair styled as a short Mohawk, his eyes were a bit slanted and he was average-build. He wore a white buttoned shirt with blue outlines near the buttons part, designer jeans and Dickies shoes. "We ain't stopping till we beat these goofballs and these cops!"

"But this is against the LAAWW!"

The teenage driver didn't listen to Hunt. He pushed again on his accelerator, and the Porsche went on high speed once more.

"WHHOOHOOOOHH! This is so AH-MAAAAZE-ZIIIING!" the driver squealed in exhilaration.

"THIS IS NOT AH-MAAAAZE-ZIIIING!" Hunt cried out.

The driver glanced over at his mirror and watched the Red Porsche passing by his blind spot and beside him.

"Well, if it isn't the goofballs!" he said, staring at the two other teenagers in the other Porsche. The first guy who was the passenger was 5'11'' in height, his blonde hair was combed backward, and he wore a white turtleneck sweater with long sleeve pulled back, tricked-out jeans with white graffiti, and sneakers. The driver—the second guy—was 6'1'' in height, dark spiky hair, slanted brown eyes, and was wearing a black hoodie over a white tee shirt, white jeans with a belt that has a buckle holding an iPod, and a pair of skater shoes.

"Did you think you were gonna lose us this easily, Jace Riders?" the driver of the Red Porsche shouted the name of the driver in the blue Porsche.

"Think again, dude!" shouted the passenger.

"Chance and Price D'Mera!" Jace called out their names, "Always a pleasure!"

"_TORABURUMĒKĀ!"_

The teenagers heard a scream from behind. It sounded like an old man from inside the pursuing police squad car.

"STOP YOUR VEHICLES! STOP YOUR VEHICLES RIGHT NOW!" the police officer shouted from his squad car through his megaphone. He was a large officer with a small mustache similar to Hitler and a look on his face that was rather not amusing.

"Officer Raiku! Sorry, ol' man!" Jace taunted, his hand shifting his gear and his fingers pushing multiple buttons on the dashboard, and the meter screen started reading Speed, Speed x2, Speed x4, until it read Xtreme, "…but you gotta keep up with my SPEEEED!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Hunt screamed from the top of his lungs.

"YYYYYEEEEEEEEOOOOOUUUUUU!" Jace hollered, "Try catching us now Chance and Price!"

"OH YEAAAH?!" Chance, the one in the passenger's seat shouted, "Go long, Price!"

And Price also picked up speed.

"THAT'S IT!" The chubby officer Raiku saw red, and he too shifted his gear and his fingers pushed on multiple buttons on the dashboard, the meter screen picked up Speed as well, until it was also Xtreme.

BOOOOOMMMM!

The police car exploded in reaction and went on high-speed, taking off right past the dawdling police vehicles and crashing right through other cars and onlookers like an unstoppable rocket. The pursuit turned hot as the cars swerved, swooshed, and dodged obstacles along the way, almost hitting trees, knocking off market stands, ripping off glass windows, and blowing off women's dresses and men's wigs in the air, exposing them.

"WHOA! That uptight officer's ganging up on us dude!" said Chance to his friend Price.

"No chance!" smiled Price before he reached the blue Porsche again, "Yo, Rider! Y'ready for more Xtreme Speed x2?!"

"WHAAAT?!" screamed Hunt before facing Jace, "But Jace, you're already goin' WAY too fast man! SLOW DOWN!"

"Too late for that Hunt!" he cackled, "And I love me some challenge!" and once again the two cars blasted off.

Officer Raiku picked up his walkie-talkie and yelled at it, "STOP THESE _TORABURUMĒKĀ_! RIGHT NOW! DO YOU READ ME?! STOP THESE _TORABURUMĒKĀĀĀĀĀĀĀ_!"

A little distance from the ongoing high-speed chase, three hot gals were about to cross the street.

"We're going shopping later tonight right, Jenn?" The first girl asked her friend, Jenn Dimentio. She was ravishing in her designer white blouse and fancy worn jeans and cowboy boots. Her sandy hair reached mid-length, was in wavy style and had blonde highlights. One of the highlights had a pink hairpin with a flower on it. She was 5'6'' also. Jenn appeared to be preoccupied, carrying in her hands a small package wrapped in a satin red color. She held onto it as if obsessed by it.

Her two friends wore different designer outfit than her. The one who was just speaking to her wore pink sequin outfit and was all blonde and Caucasian; while her second friend wore a breezy summer dress and a stem hat and was Asian-African.

"Jenn? Helloooo?" the Asian-African girl called out to Jenn. Jenn looked up, startled.

"Uh? Wh-what?"

"I asked if we were still going shopping later tonight." The blonde asked her friend.

"We better." The Asian African girl then complained, " 'cuz if your father postpones our monthly shopping spree one more time…"

"Don't worry about it girlfriends." Jenn smiled at her friends before slipping the package into her purse. "This is the last design for the project. And I'm sure my father will love it."

"Enough that you're not gonna miss Fashion Week?" the blonde asked.

"Enough that I get to shop till I—!"

Before Jenn knew it, Jace's out of control Porsche yanked up Jenn by her purse, and swept her off her feet. She screamed, "DRROOOOOOOHHHHHHPPP!"

Her two friends gasped. "What was that?" the blonde asked.

The pursuing red Porsche and the police gang zoomed right past the girls on cue.

"Who else, Mel?" the Asian-African rolled her eyes, "It's Jace and his crazy posse."

Jace saw Jenn upon noticing her purse was hung on too tight to the Porsche's side mirror, with Jenn flying over it like a flag. "Jenn?"

"JAAAACE!" Jenn screamed. "STOP THE DAMN CAR!"

"Okay, what the hell are you doing here anyway?" Jace snapped at Jenn, "trying to spoil my fun?!"

The red Porsche once again caught up with the blue Porsche.

"Whoaa! Check it dude! It's your hawt cousin the Supermodel!" Chance said.

"Wanna have dinner after the race, _Chickadee_?!" Price said, winking at Jenn.

Jenn quickly searched through her purse, grabbed on a compact mirror, and with a good swing, swung hard at the drivers on the red Porsche, knocking Price out. The red Porsche swerved to the distance, with the two drivers screaming, "HEEEY! THAT'S A FOUL! THAT'S A FRIGGIN' FOOOUL!"

The red Porsche crashed right through a boutique, and forced people to flee, dispersing out of the way. It was there that Jenn noticed the police cars hot in pursuit, with two of these cars stopping at the scene of the accident.

"OH MY GOD," she glared back at Jace, "THE POLICE IS _CHASING_ YOU?!"

"Oh nice, Jenn!" Jace complained, noticing the accident, "You just knocked out two of my best opponents!"

"I'M NOT TALKIN' ABOUT THEM, YOU DAREDEVIL FREAK!"

"I told him to slow down before but NOOO, HE WOULDN'T LISTEN TO ME AS USUAL!" cried out Hunt.

"Stop the car! Stop the car right now!" Jenn yelled reaching out for the wheel with one hand, while still hanging on her purse tied to the side-view mirror.

"Hey, WHOA, girl! Stop it! Stop it! What're you doin'?!" Jace yelped, trying to slap Jenn's hand out of the way. But Jenn kept on fighting him for possession of the car.

"I'm turning this car around! Can't you see?!"

"I see that you're bothering me! I'm in the middle of a race!"

"And I'm in the middle of saving my life!"

"And mine!" Hunt cried, "Don't forget mine!"

The fighting over the wheel forced the teens to swerve the car into drift mode. The teens screamed, "UUWWWAAAAAAAHHHH!"

They ran right into a coffeehouse, forcing everyone to disperse out of the way, screaming. The airbags popped open, the Porsche's tires exploded, and the car itself stopped moving anymore, with smokes coming out of the hood.

The police cars stopped right by the curbs of the coffeehouse, completely surrounding the Porsche. The officer with the small mustache quickly got out of his vehicle and with his officer posse quickly sauntered to the crashed Porsche.

"This is Officer Melonaka Raiku, we finally got hold of the pest. Suspect #777, Jacen Rider. Illegal racecar driving." He then paused, "…thirteenth time this year." He placed a hand on Jace's shoulder and gave him a grin, "Time's up, _Toraburumēkā_."

xXx

**Shibuya Police Department**

"Takahashi Madhaaaan!"

Jace hated that name. And every time he was in trouble, his uncle Dimentio called him just that. They were at the Shibuya Police Department when the busy uncle heard the news of his nephew's latest scheme and had to leave his workplace to pick him up, once again in his white lab coat over his blue dress shirt and fancy black pants and dress shoes. He had a blue mid-length hair that rested down on his shoulders, wore specs, and was about 6'7''. Though he had high cheekbones that made him looked middle age, he still looked fresh, like he was in his 30s. Dimentio was more than just an uncle to Jace. He was also Jenn's father. Which made Jenn and Jace cousins.

"_Ojisan_…!" Jace called him _Uncle_ in Japanese, his second native tongue. "It's Jacen Riders now? Jace for short?" Jace rudely said to Dimentio, "Didn't you get the memo on my birth certificate?" Although Jace was American, he was born and raised in two places: Italy and Japan. So during his times on these two countries he picked up their language and learned them quick and fluently.

He, Jenn, Hunt and Dimentio were halfway out the jail corridors leading up to the police precinct when Dimentio stopped to glare back at Jace. He didn't bother to stare back at his comrades, "You'll always be Takahashi Madhan no matter what your birth certificate OR your mother says about the subject." He said coldly. He then shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder why my brother—your father—didn't give you an _actual _Italian name."

"Father. _Papa_." Jenn quickly stepped in front of the man in white lab coat. She giggled nervously, "Please don't blame Jace… and again, thank you for bailing us out."

The man in cloak rolled his eyes. But he couldn't help but smile at his daughter, "Well, if my daughter's in trouble, I will always be there to help her."

Hunt then added, "Seriously, Dr. Dimentio, I don't know how to thank you. We could still be rotting in jail if it wasn't for your great position as a famed engineer!"

"Nah…" Dr. Dimentio threw a dismissal hand, almost in a dramatic tone, "my position has nothing to do with it." He then faced Jace again, "I promised your mother I will look after you, and that is exactly what I plan on doing…" he then sighed exasperatedly, "…even if she didn't keep _her _end of her bargain."

He walked away, and Jenn and Hunt followed him. Jace however stood there, jaws opened. He quickly followed.

They were out of the precinct and already back into the streets of Shibuya when Jace snapped at the engineer in lab coat, "_Ojisan_, come on! It's been twenty-five years since you and my mom dated. She dumped you. Big whoop. Can't you just let it go?"

"GAAASP!" the doctor turned on his heels, baffled by Jace's rude words, "I will NOT let your mother's betrayal go to waste my heart! She left me for your father… my own _brother_! If it wasn't for him, you and Jenn would've been sisters, not cousins."

"Ugh… ew…" Jenn muttered and Jace stuck his tongue in disgust. Hunt just stood there, gazing at both of the cousins.

"And can you stop calling me _ojisan_?" Dimentio asked.

"…but that's you, _ojisan_. That's uncle in Japanese." Jace explained.

"It's a bad mark especially coming from your mother's tribal tongue…" he then threw a hand in dismissal, "…try something else."

Jace paused. "…you want me to call you _Zio_?" he called him Uncle in Italian. And also, Jace was fluent in Italian, which is actually where he spent half of his childhood in: Italy, before moving back to America.

"AAAAH, even worse! That's my betrayer blood relative of my _brrrother'_s!" Dimentio begged in his own Italian accent, "You know what? Let's just change subject, shall we? I got a big meeting with corporate. And since you're stuck with me, you're coming with me."

The three teens' eyes suddenly lit up when they heard Dimentio said corporate. "Corporate?!" Jace exclaimed, "As in _Nintendo_?"

"You're kidding!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Papa and I have been working on a top-secret design and it is finished." Jenn said with a huge smile on her face. She then pulled out from her bag the package she had on the entire time, "Inside this packet is the final design of the limited-edition Nintendo 3DS that comes with the bundle game of _Super Smash Bros. 3D_. Corporate is gonna see it first hands and will try the game for the first time ever and hopefully we'll see if they give us the okay on the design!"

"Sweet! Can we come with?" Hunt got giddied with excitement.

"Of course y'all can come with!" Dimentio said, "Remember, you're stuck with me for the whole day, remember?"

xXx

**_The Nintendo World_**

A magnificent land full of lush jungle trees, breezy plains, various kingdoms of shape and sizes, cities towering even the skies, and even an empire on the clouds that made it look like Heaven.

It was where the many Nintendo all-stars we all know and love lived their lives and their adventures. And right now they have gathered together once again to celebrate an event on top of Midair Stadium known as the _Super Smash Bros. _Games. To people in our world, it happens once a video game generation. To them, it was once a year.

The crowd cheered as Mario picked up the baseball bat lying on the ground in the middle of the coliseum. He was staring at the Sandbag with clueless eyes, standing there before him. The screaming fans surrounded him with their intense cheering. Among the spectators were a lot of Nintendo characters: the lovely Mushroom Kingdom Princess Peach, her best friend and pen pal the Hyrulian Princess Zelda, Peach's lovely steward Toadsworth, her tiny friend Toad, and Mario's brother Luigi sat together by one bench; Space pilot and StarFox team leader Fox McCloud and his best friend Falco Lombardi sat a little farther behind them. Finally the flightless angel from Skyworld Pit sat at another far corner with the gummy-ball pink star-warrior Kirby.

"Go, Mario!" Peach cheered on, "You can do it!"

"No he can't." Luigi said.

"Master Luigi, stop being so negative." Toadsworth scolded Luigi with his British accent.

"No, I'm-a telling the truth." Luigi replied, "I really think he can't-a do it."

"All right." Falco faced Fox, his sharp eyes glaring, "Ten coins says Mario will hit that Sandbag skyhigh."

"Twenty coins say he won't." A smirk passed by Fox's lips.

"Oh-Haaawwwk!" Falco cawked, "driving a hard bargain I see? Okay! Fourty."

"Sixty."

"Eighty."

"One Hundred."

The two friends went on with the betting. Pit and Kirby were silent. Pit looked back at Kirby who was paying attention to the event in the arena. He then looked away. He tried talking to him but knowing the fact that Kirby couldn't talk was a complete waste of energy to even speak… or not speak.

"So Kirby." Pit said anyway. Kirby turned to his attention. Pit grinned, "You're from Dreamland right?"

Kirby smiled broadly, "Whhaaaooh!"

Pit nodded, his genuine smile twisted to a grimace, "…yeah, we've talked about that before." He sulked back to his seat. Kirby still smiled broadly.

[READY? GO!]

The Home-Run Contest fanfare played in the background and the crowd cheered. Mario swung. The sandbag flew up and hit an invisible wall, and bounced back countless times. Mario followed the bag in an air chase and threw a knuckle punch meteor smash. The bag vanished in a puff of smoke.

(GASSSP!)

[WHOA! What just happened? The bag just vanished!] shouted the voice of an announcer.

[HEY, WAIT A MINUTE IT DIDN'T!] shouted yet another announcer.

"Told you he couldn't make it!" Luigi said.

Mario landed on the ground and turned around to see the Sandbag staring at him with that clueless look on its face. He threw a punch but the bag dodged.

(GASSSP!)

Mario then followed with a kick. The bag dodged again.

(GASSSP!)

Mario then started throwing series of punches and kicks, and shooting fireballs around him, and throwing Super Jump Punch in the plain air, and spraying FLUDD all over, trying to at least hit that dang sandbag until he was completely blue to the face… but the sandbag just kept getting in the way!

[WHOUH-OH! LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY FORGOT TO DRINK THEIR ENERGY DRINK THIS MORNING, CUZ MARIO'S GETTING AS WEARY AS MY GRANDMAW' OLD PRUNE DRESS!]

"BWAAAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" Bowser's uproarious laughter in the audience caught all attention, even Mario. The Koopa was cackling and spilling milk from his nose (he was drinking milk).

[YOU COULD HEAR BOWSER LAUGHING IN THE BACKGROUND!]

"How'd like that, Mario?" The Koopa laughed, "The Sandbag's avoiding you! GWOOHH! HO! HO! HO! HO! HO!"

"Hey shut it, you oversized plum!" Toadsworth snapped at the Koopa.

"Oh SMACK THAT TRAP of yours, Grandpa!" Bowser countered then continued to laugh. Peach crouched down and pulled out from underground a large veggie. She flung it to Bowser, strike him in the head. Bowser went down with a concussion.

FIVE!

FOUR!

THREE!

TWO!

ONE!

The field glowed around Mario and the Sandbag, giving the sense that the invisible barriers were gone. Mario saw a shadow taking over him. He looked up and saw the Sandbag heading straight for him from above.

"AYE! MAMIII—!" Mario braced himself, raised his baseball bat and swung, striking the sandbag off the field.

"—YAAAAAA!"

The crowd went on their feet, watching the Sandbag flying up into the sky and disappearing across the stadium. The crowd went dead silent, watching.

…

…

…

YYYYYYEAAAAAAHHHH!

[OH MY FREAKING GOAT! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?]

[I DUNNO WHAT HAPPENED? MY MOUTH WAS HUNG OPEN THE ENTIRE TIME!]

[WELL ALL I KNOW IS THAT MARIO JUST SCORED THE BIGGEST WORLD RECORD EVA!]

[IT'S A NEW RECORD!]

The crowd cheered on.

"Impossible!" Falco barked. "I lost the bloody bet!"

"Boy, you _always_ lose bets." Fox reminded him.

[BUT WHERE IS THE SANDBAG ANYWAY? WHERE DID IT LAND?]

The crowd kept howling and cheering but Mario was still looking far, still wondering what happened to the Sandbag. He got down the arena and rushed out. The massive crowd followed like pack of hounds, or as if it was the end of a big basketball game and the home players won and the crowd came to celebrate.

It was then that they spotted something… something up the sky. It looked like a blinking star, and it gave everyone that sense that something was coming toward them.

Whoooosh! A powerful gust of wind blew across the stadium and sands swept across the stadium, blowing across Mario's face and blinding him temporarily. The winds finally died down and he looked up. The skies had suddenly turned red and the crowd exhaled with fright as an army stood present before Mario, surrounding him.

"Mario!" Peach stood on her chair and was seconds before reaching the stadium's bottom to help Mario, but Zelda and Toadsworth prevented her from approaching.

[MY GOSH… WHAT'S GOING ON? WHO ARE THEY?]

[I THINK WE PRETTY MUCH KNOW WHO THEY ARE! FIGHTING WIRE FRAMES!]

[THESE ARE WIRE-FRAMES? BUT… THEY LOOK SO DIFFERENT!]

Mario noticed there was a difference in the Wire Frames. Besides their cylinder and hourglass shapes of digital lights and wire, they had eyes: gleaming ones as bright as the sun. Looking at it directly could strike fear in someone's heart. And somehow Mario managed to avoid eye contact, as if he was passively aware of their spell.

One Wire Frame—a Captain Falcon version—hissed and dashed at Mario. Mario swung an uppercut, sent him flying. He leapt and nailed a forward kick at a Zelda WF from behind. He grabbed a Kirby WF and twirled him in place then hurled him onto a DK WFs's stomach.

Before Mario knew it, Fox, Falco, Pit and Kirby all joined in the battle. Mario turned to look at Luigi, still sitting besides Peach and Zelda, and shaking like a lost puppy. Mario rolled his eyes before facing his enemies.

Fox and Falco moved at flawless fast paces, dribbling all the WFs attacks and at the same time swinging punches, kicks, and shootings at the enemies. Pit went on the offensive, attacking nearby enemies with his double blades and striking those at a distance with his bow. Kirby pretty much inhaled every WFs he could spot and spat them off the stadium's skies. The crowd cheered on at the amazing teamwork from the Nintendo Characters.

The battle quickly ended when Mario struck a stance and unleashed his Final Smash attack, scorching all the remaining enemies down to the last burnt figure. The crowd cried out "VICTORY!", but the characters didn't look at all victorious. They looked exhausted and at the same time confused. Why would Wire Frames come back to the Nintendo World, better than ever? They were wondering.

[IT'S A WHOLE NEW RECORD!]

[BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT! WHY WOULD WIRE FRAMES COME BACK?!]

[I DON'T KNOW. AND I DON'T LIKE WHERE THIS IS GONNA BE GOING NEXT.]

xXx

**Real World**

An electronic portal slid open before the three teens and the man in lab coat. They stepped inside a room of slick white ivory walls and red gleaming top-to-bottom neon lights at every corner of the walls. Jace and Hunt noticed columns of Nintendo 3DS demo stands and saw _Super Smash Bros. 3D_ promo pictures above the stands. It had a promo artwork of the 3D Nintendo characters together with the logo in glorious spectacles of color, and right next to it was a picture of a closed Red Flare Nintendo 3DS model showing off its Smash Symbol engraved on its front slick and shiny cover.

Jace and Hunt couldn't be more impressed. Jace was the most impressed of the group. Being the cousin of a famed hardware engineer and the cousin of a graphic design intern, both working for _Nintendo _was not even a dream come true. It was a living dream. Jace has been a major Nintendo fan since he was born. He grew up loving the _Mario_ and _Zelda _games and was only a tween when he first played _Smash Bros_. the very first time. Since then, he has enjoyed every other Nintendo first-party games ranging from _Metroid_, to _Kirby_, _Fire Emblem _and _StarFox. _He recently got to play the latest _Kid Icarus _game and he loved it. Now with the latest _Smash Bros. _title, the anticipation was killing him.

What killed him even more was that he couldn't even reveal any of this to his friends in the public world. Everything that he was seeing at the company were to be kept top-secret. And he was _really _lousy at keeping secrets.

"Kids. I want you to meet _Nintendo's _stock analyst and senior engineer, Mr. Saki and Mr. Oiji." Dr. Dimentio introduced two men who were in the room. He then turned to face yet another man. A younger one, "and one of the co-executives from America Headquarters, Mr. Deroi."

Dr. Dimentio then turned to face his nephew and pressed a finger on his lips as a reminder, "Don't forget." He said, "Our discussion must be kept private."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know that. Don't remind me twice."

"Or sixteen times." Jenn mumbled.

"Yes. I almost spilled the beans, but that was one time!" Jace cried out.

"So, Dimentio-san." Mr. Oiji said to the man in lab coat, "You got it?"

"Yes, Oiji-san. It's ready." Dimentio smiled broadly, "Wait till you see this."

Jenn took her cue and opened the packet, revealing a box. She opened the box and there was the Red Flare Nintendo 3DS model with the Smash Symbol engraved on its front cover. The senior engineer and the stock analyst and the exec examined the 3DS. Hunt and Jace examined the 3DS as well. It was really beautiful and eye-popping.

The three guests nodded their heads, "Just as we wanted from the concept art," said Mr. Saki before facing Dimentio, "Excellent work, Dimentio-san. The President and the rest of the team will love this. And so will the public."

"I'm loving this already." Jace commented. Hunt nodded in agreement.

Dimentio shook his head, "I appreciate the gesture, sirs. But it's my daughter Jenn who deserved the credit." Dimentio fondly wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulder, "She worked on the design herself."

"Did you now?" Mr. Deroi sounded impressed, "I never thought a beautiful young lady like you could be designing the looks of video games like that."

Jenn blushed, "Oh? Why, thank you, sir."

Noir smiled, "Eh, please, call me Noir." He then glanced over the other two teens, "And you guys should call me that too."

"Perhaps," Mr. Oiji added, "I think we've been wasting the times of our young guests here long enough." He swept his arms over the demo stands, "… Smash Bros. 3D is close to finish development anyway, so why not take your chance to check out our demo before the public does?"

Jace and Hunt's eyes lit up, "Whoa! You're serious?" Jace exclaimed.

"That's not a joke right?" Hunt exclaimed.

"Help yourself out." Mr. Saki replied, "It's what we can do for your supports."

Jace and Hunt mad-dashed toward one of the demos and started playing them.

"And as for you, young lady." Dr. Dimentio said to his daughter, "Don't you have like someplace to go?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! Fashion Week!" Jenn lit up, "Thank you Papa!"

"Wait a minute." Mr. Deroi, or Noir, said, "Not so fast, Ms. Dimentio. You can't go to Fashion Week without my private jet. Here." Noir pulled out his _Droid X, _unlocked and tapped in the number, "Let me call my pilot and he'll arrange for your safe arrival."

"Mr. Deroi." Dimentio turned nervous, "Is that really necess—?"

Noir held his hand up to quiet Dimentio, "Sir, please." He smiled genuinely, "it's on me. A gift for all your hard work."

"Mr. Deroi is a very pleasant executive." Mr. Oiji replied, "Please let him compose such nice gesture for your daughter."

Dimentio smiled, "Thank you, sirs. Thank you truly."

"Thank you." Jenn smiled broadly, "I don't know how I can repay you Mr. Deroi… I mean… Noir… Sir."

"No repayment necessary." Mr. Deroi smiled back at Jenn before facing the rest of the execs and Dimentio, "Shall we?"

"We shall." Mr. Saki replied and the group together stepped out of the demo lounge. Dimentio was at the exit when he called out to Jace and Hunt who were too busy playing the demo, "Don't forget to lock the demo lounge when you're done guys!"

He finally took his leave with the rest of the group.

Jace and Hunt finally stopped playing the demo after what felt like a few solid 20 minutes of fun.

"I can't believe this is what the public will be playing very soon." Hunt said, "So much changed in that game I can't even count."

"I know." Jace replied, "Isn't that awesome? And the best part is that the new 3DS model that Jenn designed? It's gonna be included as a bundle with the actual _Smash Bros. 3D_ game in it. Every bundle will have that goodie." he then shook his head, "I swear if I could get that bundle right now, I would…"

He then stopped, suddenly his mind was elsewhere. Hunt turned to him, "…You would what?"

Hunt noticed Jace and like the back of his hands, he knew him too well to recognize that blank stare he always got on his face. And he did not like that stance.

"Jace?" he said with a warning tone. Jace looked up, still not focused. Now Hunt got alarmed, "Jace, is something on your mind?"

Jace smiled dazedly. Hunt's voice raised, "Jace… that better not be something on your mind, mister!"

Finally Jace snapped back to reality, "What?" he frowned, grinning, "No. Nothing's on my mind. Why would there be something on my mind?" he quickly changed subject. They left the Demo Lounge and were walking down the hallway when Jace said, "Hey let's go to the restroom." his right arm wrapped around Hunt's shoulders.

"Whoa! The restroom?" Hunt stopped Jace, panic struck his voice again, "As in _together_?"

"Whaat?" Jace quickly backed off Hunt, "Nooo!" he exclaimed, "Not together! We're not girls. I meant to the restroom as in me…" he pointed two thumbs at himself, "…and…uh… you…" he then pointed two index fingers at Hunt, "…didn't you drank like seven Powerades this morning?"

Hunt rolled his eyes, "I didn't drink seven Powerades this morning…" he said, smiling, "I drank _eight_ Powerades."

Hunt paused uneasily; a gushing feeling to rush took over him. "Oh god, NOW I have to go!" he darted past Jace to the nearest Men's restroom he could spot, screaming, "Thanks a lot, Jace!"

"You're welcome!" Jace said out loud, "Take your time!"

The moment Hunt stormed into the restroom, Jace turned around with that sly smile on his face, "…and I'll take mine." He muttered before sauntering back into the 3DS Demo Lounge. He closed the door behind him and slowly stepped forward the demo pedestal, his eyes staring mesmerizingly at one of the Red Flare 3DS units.

He then looked up to see the _Super Smash Bros. 3D_ promo picture with the Red Flare 3DS again, biting his lower lip. He took a deep breath, and then returned his gaze back into the 3DS unit sitting there. He knew in his mind that he was gonna do something stupid—but what could possibly go wrong, he thought.

Besides, the game that was in front of him was a demo—a two-hour long demo of pure goodness, which featured all characters from the _Brawl_ title and then ten new ones already revealed to the public, with the full cast still likely to be revealed to the Internet, which he knew thanks to his position in the Nintendo Corp. And besides, the bundle was gonna come out with the actual game on release date very soon, at a sweet price even, and that demo… it was gonna be loooong forgotten.

And if that wasn't excuse enough—he looked around the lounge—there were more demos and 3DS units here and a whole lot more in the storage room. With that said, his mind was made up.

He was gonna steal it!

"Okay, baby." He smiled again, reaching out slowly to the security lock and cord that bounded one of the 3DS units, "Come to Papa."

With a click, the 3DS unit was once again freed, and there he had it to his hands. He smiled triumphantly, "Jackpot."

"Jace?"

Jace quickly placed the 3DS unit down and turned around. It was Jenn.

"Jenn!" he stammered, "Hi! I was just…!"

"Playing the demo still?" Jenn finished for him, "Aren't you gonna get ready? You're supposed to leave for New York tonight."

"Oh right…" Jace sighed, "Head back home."

Jenn sighed as well, "I know…" she said, "…three months of getting me into trouble, and you're leaving so soon?" she shook her head, "I don't know how I'm gonna deal with that."

"Hey, it's not like you're seeing me the last time." Jace replied, "You're gonna be on the airport to see me leave. You and _Ojisan_… and aren't you supposed to be with your girlfriends for Fashion Week?"

"I was, but then I forgot…" Jenn pulled out the special 3DS unit—the one with the Smash Symbol on it, from her purse, "The execs wanted me to leave this model here in the Demo lounge Showcase Pedestal, for the rest of the team to see it. But then I don't wanna be late for Fashion Week and I got a private jet ride right now and I don't wanna keep Mr. Deroi waiting. Y'know he's really cute—!"

"Your point?" Jace rudely interrupted.

"Oh yeah!" Jenn handed the Smash-engraved 3DS over to Jace, "Can you put it to that glass pedestal over to the far wall for me?" she pointed over Jace, "Make sure you lock it, so that no one steals it! The password is 76274."

Jace noticed the glass pedestal behind him at the far wall. It was also a pedestal for a 3DS demo unit. But that one was not meant to be touched, as the glass was meant for showcasing. He smiled sneakily, before facing Jenn, "I'll take care of it. You go have fun."

"Thank you!" Jenn clapped excitedly, "Y'know, you're a great guy you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Jenn cut him off with a quick peck on the cheek, "…oh."

She sauntered off. Jace watched her leave, a hand resting on his kissed cheek. He blushed. He glanced back at the Smash-engraved 3DS she entrusted it to him to keep safe. His focus once again changed and he smiled mischievously. He quickly put down the Smash-engraved 3DS on one of the Demo stations, grabbed the other 3DS demo unit he had previously unlocked and went for the Showcase Pedestal. He quickly inputted the password, shifting the glass open. He removed the _Smash Bros_. _3D_ game card from the 3DS unit, placed the unit into the Showcase pedestal, and closed its glass.

He quickly went for the Smash-engraved 3DS, popped the game card into the empty game slot and slipped the portable into his pocket, not paying attention to the Smash symbol emitting a faint light glow. He took off the demo lounge, whistling victory.

A flashy light overwhelmed the 3D demo lounge, and materializing in place was a female Fighting Wire Frame. She appeared different. She had eyes… bright eyes… and they were fixing on Jace leaving.

xXx

**_Nintendo World_**

In Midair Stadium, much like anywhere else in the Nintendo World, anything was possible. One minute the stadium was filled with people, cheering and crying out for their contenders at the Smash Bros. Games, like spectators at a national football league. Then the next minute, it turned into something similar to a Roman Arena, where these same spectators would panic and cry out as they watched contenders fighting for their lives against hoards of savage beasts and wild animals… except that these beasts were the Fighting Wire Frames, who came to invade the stadium and to finish our Nintendo characters before the Games could be over.

Now, that same stadium looked like a federal courthouse. With these same amount of people turning into a raging sea of protestors and angry mobs. All tried to talk over one another like there were having a heated discussion against typical government affairs.

But that wasn't their prime concern. The Nintendo World was in trouble. They could sense it. They could feel it. The Wire Frames' sudden return to the world confirmed it.

The Nintendo characters sat by a circular wooden area, facing the angry mob that surrounded them like a ring to a finger. There was Mario, Peach, Zelda, and Toadsworth. Two guards from the kingdom of Hyrule stood in front of them for protection. And with them were Fox and Falco.

"What is going on here?!"

"Is this the end of the world again?"

"The Emissary has returned again! We're done for!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

There was no way for the crowd to stay calm. They were way too agitated to stay calm. The Nintendo characters had to do something to calm them down, even if it required a gun.

PHEW!

Before everyone knew it, they were on the ground crouching, as bits and pieces of rocks and debris rained down on them at the impact of a raygun that just pierced the ceiling. Finally they were quiet. All eyes turned to the person who fired the laser: Falco.

"That'll shut you all up." He muttered, relieved to hear the silence.

"Look." A Koopa in the audience spoke. He sported spectacles and had a cane with him. "Something bad is happening to the Nintendo world. I can feel it. And these creatures coming back to wreak havoc on our beautiful world proves it! Are you ever gonna fix it?"

The crowd roared along in request and the brouhaha resumed.

"Of course they're going to fix this." Toadsworth replied with his intellectual English accent, "Master Mario and company have never disappointed their people before."

"This could very well be the work of Master Hand!" someone else shouted from the audience. It was a Blue Pianta. "Can this hand EVER give us a break?!"

Once again, the crowd got wild in response and protest.

"Please, remain calm my people…" Zelda spoke, tugging her hands in front as if to calm the impatient crowd. Immediately they quieted down, as if they got put under Zelda's spell of patience. But in truth, Zelda didn't do any magic. Her kind heart and patience was what actually enchanted the crowd before everyone.

"We may have to find a much healthier way to solve all of your problems." Zelda said.

"How about we eliminate Master Hand, once and for all?" Pit interrupted, pumping his fists in the air. His outburst and energy quickly broke the patience off the crowd and aroused them in loud cheers. "What do you say to THAT?"

The crowd cheered on wildly again.

"Or…" Peach jumped in to speak, her English accent sweet and comforting to all ears, once again calmed the audience, "Or…we settle this dispute in a more appropriate manner." She smiled, "We invite the Master Hand over to our kingdom for some tea."

The audience groaned in disgust. All eyes turned to Peach.

"TEA?!" someone else screamed. It was a talking blue parrot from the Kongo Jungle, "You wanna invite the Lord of Darkness for some tea?"

Peach pouted, "But he's immortal! You cannot expect us to set him on fire like used pair of dinner gloves."

Then the double doors at the far end from the audience flew open and in walked Medusa and Nergal. The Goddess of Darkness from Skyworld—the _Kid Icarus _realm—and the dark wizard from Elibe—the _Fire Emblem _realm— both had sinister smiles on their faces… smiles that could antagonize anyone who stared at it. The crowd froze in place.

"Actually, we have a better suggestion for all of you." Medusa smirked, the snakes on her head swayed alongside her flouncy strut.

Pit shot out from the audience, standing couple of feet from the villains. "Medusa! Underworld Goddess!"

Fox, Falco, and Mario all shot out from their places to join Pit. Kirby also joined in the fray, "And a whole slew of Nintendo villains!" Fox exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Falco asked, "Causing more trouble?"

"Yes." Ganondorf spoke, joining in with his villainous allies. Following him were Mewtwo, Dedede, and finally Bowser. "Because that is what we always do. Causing more trouble."

"Time to put you all in YOUR place!" King Dedede barked, "Because you will never know what will hit ya!" he laughed, sending terror to the audience's spine. That laugh didn't intimidate Kirby a bit. Just made him more clueless. He uttered a, "Uh?"

Mewtwo didn't say anything. He simply stood there.

"Time for you to suffer Mario!" Bowser sneered back at the plumber, "All the pains and sufferings you and your…" he glanced around the courthouse to see if Luigi was there. Nowhere in sight, "…_missing_ brother" he said finally, "have been giving me… I will give them back. And you will suffer at my place."

The crowd uttered amongst themselves. Mario was briefly silent. Then with a shrug and an adorable dash of pouting in his face, he spoke with an Italian accent, "Ooooh… Sorry, big boy. But it's-a seem that I do not-a accept refunds for your pains and sufferings."

"OOOOOOOOHHH!" The crowd hissed at that comeback. Bowser recoiled as if he has been slapped in the face. But Mario wasn't finished. "…and uh, by the way Luigi isn't missing."

Mario pulled Luigi from the sea of protestors to face the villains. "He's-a right here"

"HEEEYYY!" Luigi whined at him, "I was-a doing well hiding from the villains!"

"Well…" a sly smirk crossed Nergal's lips, his sharp mummy eyes fixated on the Nintendo heroes before them, "Looks like this won't do." The sorcerer curled up his craggy fingers then uncurled them to reveal an orb shimmering in rainbows, with flashing lights swirling around it. The crowd drew their breath at the sight of that orb dancing in the Sorcerer's palm.

"Feast your eyes, ladies and gentlemen, on the 3rd Dimensional Sphere." Nergal said just as the Sphere started afloat in the middle of the room, "With this power, we can control all dimensions and all worlds within it! Including yours."

"Care for a little demo?" Medusa solicited.

Nergal then tugged his arm forward, and the Sphere shot out one of its flashing light, and straight toward Peach. Peach screamed as her body vanished in million stardust. Everyone began to panic and started running around like crazy for the exit.

Nergal was about to sent out another blast of the 3D Sphere's light when Pit shouted, "Oh, no you don't!" charged and tackled Nergal; but he went right through the sorcerer like a ghost and he skidded right between Bowser and Dedede. The two villains restrained him by his arms. He struggled.

Medusa turned around, facing Pit. Her underworld eyes stared with dark menace, she swept her staff across the room and more lights dispersed out of the 3D Sphere across the chamber. One of the lights struck Pit, who cried out as he too met Peach's fate.

Thousand of the 3D lights continued to splatter across the courthouse, striking any unlucky ones in the crowd. Toadsworth tripped, flipped around and watched a light coming straight at him. Luigi jumped in front of him in the nick of time, but both got swallowed by the light.

Zelda tried fending off the lights with her Nayru's Love shield. But the continuing magic quickly exhausted her. She bended on her knees, and could see her fatigued breaths exhaling from her mouth. Before she knew it she saw a shadow before her, like someone was standing in front of her. She looked up and there was Link, fending off the lights with his shield.

"Link…" she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Princess!" Link shouted, tugging his shield upward to fend off more of the lights and swinging his sword to strike them, "Please find a safe place!" he briefly looked back at Zelda, "Now!"

"LOOK OUT!" Zelda shrieked.

Link turned around and his visions quickly got clouded by a bright light. Before Zelda knew it, Link was gone, only leaving behind a trail of his cry. Immediately Zelda felt a blast of fire ringing down her spine and she screamed too, vanishing into dusts.

Mario, Fox and Falco were running toward the 3D Sphere that kept twirling in place and showering the courthouse with its deadly lights. They jumped, leapt, flipped, all performing near misses and avoiding the lights. Mario took one big jump and before he knew it he was right above the twirling 3D Sphere. In about a splinter of a second he could stop its power completely, and the Nintendo world would be saved. And hopefully those who got consumed by its lights will be delivered. He curled up his fingers to form a fist and was ready to swing.

But then another dancing flash of light came out of the 3D Sphere and straight toward Mario, ran through him. Mario vanished.

Fox and Falco were closing in on the villains but skidded to a stop, watching another blast of light from the 3D Sphere coming toward them. It struck them and they too vanished.

The villains laughed, watching the people evacuating from the 3D Sphere's uncontrollable powers.

"Tremble at the mercy of the 3rd Dimensional Sphere, everybody!" Medusa cackled, "Tremble!"

"Wait…" Ganondorf barked.

The villains turned their attention away from the screaming party to the Gerudo sorcerer. There was concern in his eyes, "…I don't believe this."

"What?" Bowser said, "What don't you believe? We're getting rid of everyone!"

"That is not the concern right now. Look." Ganondorf pointed again at the orb. And when the villains looked up they noticed its rainbow colors darkening and its shooting lights changing into a muddy color. The orb however continued to spin out of control and struck any of its victims to oblivion.

"It's changing colors." Medusa deduced, "WHAT the heck is going on?!"

"I'll tell you, exactly, what is going on."

The villains heard a voice, and it had a muffled sound like someone who was wearing a mask. And lo and behold he was wearing a mask. It was the Black Knight. He stepped into the courtroom, the clacking sound of his metallic boots drowned into the continuing sea of panic from the audience.

"It appears that the 3rd Dimensional Sphere as detected another artifact. One, I shudder to think, that will counteract the Sphere's almighty power."

"Counter the sphere's power?!" Dedede gasped.

"That's bully!" Bowser sneered.

"What, of ALL dimensions, would try to counteract this sphere's almighty power?" Ganondorf snorted, "We want to know!"

"One… from another dimension." The Black Knight deduced, "According to legend, a legend of Old, the Ancients created the 3rd Dimensional Sphere and the other artifact that will counteract the sphere's power. That artifact is called the 3rd Dimensional… Screen."

"Wait a minute…" Nergal's left eye stretched out wide in realization. He swept his arm in the air and an image displayed in midair. The villains all looked and saw it: the Limited-Edition Smash Bros. Nintendo 3DS!

The Black Knight went on, "That's it. Right there. The 3rd Dimensional Screen."

"No way…" Bowser breathed.

The Black Knight went on, "It was sent to another dimension while the Sphere itself remained here in our world. Should the 3rd Dimensional Sphere finds its way to evil's hands, that 3rd Dimensional Screen will find its way in the hands of good. And whoever possesses that artifact shall be called…"

"The White Knight." Ganondorf finished, his voice almost irritated.

"Damn the Darkness!" Nergal barked, "Now it's gonna fall into the wrong hands!"

"We need to find that other power…" Medusa hissed just like her thousand snakes on her head, "And we need to find it now!"

With anger exploding in her voice, she cried out, "_EXPLOSIO CLAVISISPIARCUS!_" and stretched her arms out and the 3rd Dimensional Sphere grew twice its size in response. Then instead of shooting out its lights, it began to inhale powerfully anything close to it. Immediately the villains were gone.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

**Real World**

It was the day that Jace was leaving Tokyo. And Hunt was coming with him. Jace's real home was in New York City, even though Italy was where he was born and Tokyo was where he grew up. Throughout his childhood, Jace has managed to get adapted to both cultures. Which explains his fluency in Japanese and Italian.

Dr. Dimentio and Jenn have accompanied them to Tokyo Int'l Airport, and have watched the guys entered the terminal to board one of the Japan Airlines planes. Of course, Dimentio had to tell Jace not to get himself into ANY kind of trouble when he got to New York City. And once again, Jace has reassured his uncle that no troubles will come his way… but let's be honest, he thought. Everytime he said that, trouble got to him. He didn't know why or how, but trouble _always _managed to get to him.

One would think that Jace was either raised in a bad environment with neglectful parents, or was actually hanging out with a bad crowd. But neither one of these cases were true. His dad (may he rest in peace) was a successful entrepreneur in New York, and his mom was a successful supermodel in LA. Despite their workload, they always managed to hang out with their only child until he was old enough to go to Japan for that summer with Hunt and stay with his uncle and cousin.

His best friend Hunt was the kind of guy you wouldn't imagine Jace hanging out with because he was a bookworm and a nerd. Always followed the rules by the book, a straight-A student, and very paranoid when it comes to doing questionable activities.

And cool people like Jace don't roll like that. Nerds are bums… sucking the life out of fun.

But in the past, Jace too was a nerd. And even though Jace had suddenly transformed from scrawny nerd with Harry Potter-like glasses and freckles on the cheekbones, to a buffed-up body and a dashing pretty boy face, status quo never managed to break these two bros apart.

So exactly, why was he a troublemaker? Simple. His personality. From shy boy to thrill-seeker, which came as a package deal to the new look, he was always looking for anything that will put him in either on the line of fire or beyond what the law required. From these, he became the most popular guy in high school and the most fearless dude feared by faculties. You wouldn't be surprised if the entire police department of New York, Italy, OR Japan knew him like he was a colleague there. But Jace overall was a cool guy, and despite his faults, he never managed to end up in jail for more than… well, one hour.

Jace and Hunt were finally on the plane. Hunt dragged and swung over one suitcase and with all his frail weight he shoved it into its cubicle. He hunched over going for the next suitcase, but couldn't find the remaining strength to do so. He breathed heavily.

"Hey, have you checked out that _Kia_ _Shake Some Soul 2012 _commercial on _YouTube_?" Jace cheerfully laughed, watching the video on his iPhone.

"The one with the _Party Rock Anthem_?" Hunt huffed.

"YEAH! Totally rad, man! CHECK IT OUT!" he moved the iPhone up close for Hunt to see.

Hunt narrowed his eyes at him, "Yeah…" he gasped, with a tone of sarcasm, "…these robots sure know how to get down."

"I know right?" Jace laughed, "Seriously, if the end of the world was like that, I wouldn't mind get down with 'em before dyin'!"

Hunt stretched up. He could've sworn he heard his back pop when he did that. "Well," he grimaced in pain, "how about you get down and help me out here with the suitcases?"

Jace noticed two more suitcases besides the two friends. "…fine." He handed his iPhone to Hunt, "But can you at least check it out! It'll perk you up!"

Hunt blinked, "How do you even get WiFi on a plane?"

"Plane got WiFi."

"Oh."

"Ugh… Moooomm~!" A young voice whined, catching the guys' attention. It sounded tomboyish and energetic, though it sounded irritated at that moment. Jace and Hunt briefly glanced at a young girl, probably in her early teens; she had straight, brown, shoulder length hair with fringe blue eyes, freckles and pale skin, and sported an orange mop hat, a white hoodie with an orange star pattern on it, black gloves and leggings, and orange trainers. She was talking to her mom on the phone.

"…would you hurry up? New York isn't getting any younger, y'know?"

"Well, forgive me honey, for making a pitstop to the Land of the Rising Sun." came a much older female voice, which sounded around the mid-40s. The boys briefly glanced over to see an older woman entering the plane. Of course she was in her forties, and was on her cellphone as well. She smiled to her daughter, who gave her a scolding gaze.

"Mom." The girl put down her cellphone, "Taking the _wrong _plane to go to Tokyo just so that you can go try out all the noodles and curry rices in the city does not call for a pitstop."

"Ohh," Mom tossed her hand in dismissal, "Quit your whining, my little Honey Maple. The plane's not gonna take off for yet another minute. Besides we'll be in New York just in time to see Aunt Claris."

"Yeah, but Dad is not here!" the girl called Maple complained.

"Uhh, honey?" a gruffy, almost geeky sounding voice called on Maple besides her. Maple looked up and saw a forty-something years old man with a slender look, big thick glasses and bushy mustache. That was no doubt the father, "I'm right here." He said bitterly.

"Sorry…" she grinned.

Catching sight of Maple's dad, Jace sniggered then patted on Hunt, "Hey, Hunt. Check this out." He pointed at the mid-age man, "…that's you in the future."

Hunt angrily smacked him on the chest, "Hey, not funny." But Jace couldn't help but giggle. The two friends finally took their seats on the plane, Hunt sat by the window and Jace was right next to him. But Maple and her parents haven't settled on their seats yet, as for some of the passengers.

_Ding! Attention, passenger. Tokyo Air flight 67 will be taking off for its destination New York City in 5 minutes. Please settled onto your assigned seats, fasten your seatbelt and get ready for takeoff. Thank you for choosing Tokyo Air. Arigato Ozaimastai!_

Maple's parents were now taking their seats, which was in the middle. There were five seats per row in one large middle column.

Maple sat in the middle, and her mom and dad sat next to her. Two other strangers sat besides the parents. One of them looked like a chubby American guy, while the other one was a 5'10'' Japanese guy and looked eerily mysterious under a dark-blue boxing hoodie that hid his dark-brown haired face, with blue and green eyes. The mysterious Japanese was next to dad. Dad gave him a greeting nod, "Hiya!" he said.

The guy breathed low, not bothering to stare back, not bothering to respond. Dad bashfully looked away, "…ohhhkay."

"So promise me guys," Maple began, "Promise me that once we get to New York to visit our dear Aunt Claris; that you won't embarrass me?"

"Honey, you're 13." Mom said, "You'll have plenty of time to get embarrassed by us."

"I'm serious, mom!" Maple exclaimed, "We're talking about New York City! It's gonna be an adventure there. Imagine all the treasures you can find there. All the secret passageways, all the allies we get to recruits, all the BOYS we get to find…!" her eyes dazzled at the thought of… well, everything.

"Honey, you've been playing _way _too many video games." Dad said. "You need a life."

"…yeaah…" Maple mumbled, still in her trance.

Finally the plane took off, and was now on its way toward its final destination: New York City.

Couple of hours past, the plane was in the skies, crossing the open blue sea. Most passengers were asleep, some listened to music, and some were quietly watching private movies with their headphones. Maple and her mom were flipping through comics and fashion magazines, while Dad was snoring loudly, almost irritating the two ladies and the Japanese guy next to him. Maple put down her comic book. She stood up and squeezed past her mom and the large man besides her and went for the restroom. One was vacant. She flung it open and locked it behind her once inside.

Meanwhile Jace leaned over to Hunt and whispered, "Psst. Hey Hunt."

Hunt who had his eyes resting, flickered them open. He was close to fall into a deep sleep when his friend called him. "Aww…" He stretched, "Jace, please don't tell me you saw my future self again."

"No, it's not that." Jace briefly looked around to see if no one was watching or listening, "You won't believe what I just got."

He searched through his left jeans pocket and slowly pulled out the Smash-symbol 3DS console. He showed it to Hunt.

Hunt shrugged, "It's a 3DS. Don't you have it already?"

"Not this kind."

He showed him the Smash-symbol on the front. Hunt's eyes widened.

"That's Jenn's 3DS!" he hissed. He looked back at the passengers who were quietly minding their own businesses before facing Jace again, his hand lowering the 3DS in hiding, "It wasn't supposed to be out in the public. You stole it."

"I didn't steal it." Jace said, "Jenn gave it to me."

Hunt narrowed his eyes, "Really?"

"Okay, fine. I stole it." Jace cracked, "But she wanted to put it back to the showcase pedestal at the 3DS demo lounge. And I volunteered."

"By stealing it."

"Borrowing." Jace clarified with a smirk, "And besides, she can always make another one." He gave Hunt the 3DS, "Hold on to it. I gotta go tinkle."

He jumped off his seat and took off. Hunt stammered, trying to say something, but by the time Jace was halfway down to the restroom; he stopped stuttering and sighed, shaking his head. He bent his back and wrapped his arms around the 3DS close to his chest. He nervously stared around at the passengers who paid no attention to him. Sometimes gave a quick grin to those who ignorantly glanced at his direction. He felt like an accomplice to a very heinous crime and he didn't want to get caught. He had a future to think about. In the corporate world. Not in a federal prison with creepy cellmates who do questionable things to freshmen criminals.

Jace turned to his left. There was a red sign on the restroom door '_Occupied'. _But inside sounded like flushing. Heturned to his right and read the green sign on the restroom door, '_Vacant_'. Perfect, he thought. He was about to open it when the restroom next to him clicked and swung open. The door struck him on the back. He jumped. There he saw Maple. The duo exchanged glances.

"Whoops!" Maple smiled, "S-sorry." her face flushed pink. That guy was cute, she thought.

Jace smiled back, "Hi…" He then stepped back, letting her past, "No, I'm sorry. Go ahead."

But she didn't budge. She stared back, as if immobilized by his sharp olive eyes. Finally she came back to her senses; "Oh!" she looked back to where her parents were, "R-Right. I'm…" she giggled again, "I'm sorry. Again."

Brushing back a lock of her hair she scurried off back to her seat. Jace watched her briefly then turned to face the vacant restroom again. He swung its door open.

He didn't see the toilet.

He stopped, blinking. What he was seeing instead was a forestland of trees, grasses, rocks, and bumpy hiking trails that made him feel like he was on a forested mountain. And he was smack dab in the middle of it.

He glanced back quickly and saw more trees up a narrow trail of rocks behind him. Trees loomed tightly around him, spreading about before him with their swatches of saw grass and trailers of vine, shrubs and unsteady rocks on unsteady soils. No door leading to the inside of the plane.

"What the hell?" he thought.

He suddenly heard cheering all around him. It was like of great assembly of people, old and young, chanting and howling in support of whoever they were supporting.

Yet the sound of their cry was faint… as if, distant.

He looked around but saw no such crowd. He was in the middle of a freaking forest and he was hearing things! He twisted back when he saw a woman—a stewardess outfit standing before him. Her hat was corked down to shield her eyes. She looked eerie. Yet her slender form made her look sexy.

"Whoa!" He jumped.

She didn't move a muscle. Jace chuckled nervously then waved at her, "H-hi! You scared me."

She said nothing. Not even a smile.

"Uhh… listen." Jace went on, "Am I in the wrong place or something? Cuz you see? I was going to the restroom and all, and now I'm hearing things and I—!"

The woman spun a kick right to Jace's side. But Jace quickly saw the attack and jumped back, "Whoa!"

The invisible crowd broke into loud cheers at the first attack.

The woman quickly followed with a Jumping Back kick, sending Jace flying right onto a tree branch, pain exploded on his back hard enough to break his spine. The crowd went wild with excitement.

"Agghh…" Jace crouched, holding on his side. He looked up and watched the woman charging at him, screaming bloody murder.

"Whoa!" Jace rolled out of the way. The woman leapt off from the sturdy ground before she could hit the tree and landed on a tree branch. She then leapt off the branch again with a forward kick at Jace, screaming again her blood-curdling cry.

"AAAHH!" Jace jumped out of the way again. The invisible crowd exhaled in close-call. The woman landed on her feet and threw a Round kick. Jace quickly blocked the kick with his arm, twisted her leg that made her body flip over and then followed with a palm thrust, sending her flying right through a tree, shattering it. The crowd roared again in loud cheer. The woman tumbled to the ground; her hostess hat flew off her head.

Jace stopped, eyes widened. He attacked a woman. He couldn't believe it. But it was self-defense, he thought.

"Oh my gosh…" He quickly dismissed that last thought and ran up to her, no longer concern for his safety, "Ohhh my gosh…" he knelt beside her, "Oh my gosh, are you all right, ma'am?"

She slowly pushed herself off the ground.

"Listen, I am so sorry… I didn't mean to attack you." His voice shook in distress, "But you attacked me first and I—!"

The woman turned her revealed face to Jace, and what he saw froze his blood completely. The woman's bright eyes flashed before him, and its mouth shot out a powerful growl, exposing piranha teeth. Her skin wasn't fair, but a mixture of pink and lavender wires. This was no ordinary hostess. It was some sort of Wire creature.

Wire Frame!

"WHOA!" He startled, and stumbled back to the ground. A bright aura overwhelmed the Female Wire Frame and the bright sky quickly got shrouded by dark clouds. She leapt off into the sky and before Jace knew it a massive giant spider landed right in front of him, shattering the trees that were in the way. Its beaded eyes staring back. At that point, Jace was terrified, paralyzed from the heads down. The only slight movement he could make was his fingers curling up to the grass. His eyes were bulging and his heart was heaving. The creature hissed. The invisible crowd cheered again.

"Ohh… my… GAAAASH!" Jace cried out, his trembling voice managed to be loud. This was a dream, he thought. A petrifying dream

…but then again, he was wide awake. Very conscious.

The spider quickly moved toward him and Jace managed to move again by shuffling backward. Jace could hear the invisible crowd making thunderous cheering and stomping off their feet with sheer excitement. But they were still nowhere in sight! Jace was now convinced that this was a dream.

The spider thrust its front legs at him, and he dodged each one of the thrusts.

"Where the freak is that restroom's door?!" he cried out, frantically looking around for that little door! But then the next second came and Jace found himself before a wall of rocks: dead end!

He turned around and watched the spider swing its two legs at him.

CRAASH!

Jace flew backward, crashed right through the wall of rocks, and went skyhigh. The crowd cheered out loud again.

His back suddenly slammed on a wall. This time it wasn't another wall of rock, but a wall of metal. He winced again in pain.

He then looked up and there was the restroom's door before him. He spun his head and noticed the passengers staring back at him, exchanging words and glances of worry.

"Sir?"

He looked back at a bunch of stewards and stewardesses surrounding him. Their heads cocked on one side.

"Oh good you're awake. Is everything all right, sir?" A steward asked him.

"Are you okay?" a stewardess then asked him.

Jace looked back at the restroom's door, then back at the group. He quickly jumped to his feet and swung the door open. There was the toilet. He blinked.

"Oh my god."

"Sir?"

Jace stared back at the group.

"I… uhh…"

"Yes!" shouted Hunt as he approached his best friend, "Everything's fine with him. Don't worry about it."

"Really?" one of the stewardesses blinked.

"Really?" Jace stared back at Hunt questionably.

"Cause he hit his head pretty hard there. We almost had to call paramedics." The steward said before facing Jace, a hand on his shoulder, "Are you SURE you're all right, sir?"

"Look, sir. Ma'am… everyone…" Hunt grabbed Jace's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder and held him up for support, "You don't have to worry. See, he's my brother. And he's dyslexic. He sees things people don't. That explains a lot more."

Everyone on board exchanged brief glances of confusion.

"Well, gotta go!" Hunt started dragging Jace back into their seats, "And please, no paramedics. We appreciate your concern." He then faced the other passengers as they dawdled back into their seats, "…all of you. We really appreciate it. Thank you."

Maple didn't understand what just happened. One minute she met this really cute guy on the plane, and then the next minute, she heard some indistinct sound that sounded like fighting, and before she knew it there were the stewards and stewardesses rushing to the restroom, tried to break it open and then, BAM! The door blasted off its hinges like an explosion, and there he was, staring in space like his uncle after another night out with his 'gboys'.

Luckily her parents were too busy watching their private drama movie and their boring 'how to be rich?' seminar section on their headphones to have heard the whole commotion.

They would've freaked out and made some rude comments about the airport letting crazy guys onboard, OR the plane having poor service, mileage and the fact that it was cursed like that plane that exploded on one of those _Final Destination _movies…which for some reasons, always reminded her of Master Hand in the _Smash Bros._ games.

Most importantly, the discussion would've been about the plane. Strange things don't happen like that on planes, they would've said.

"What was that all about?" Mom asked Maple, assuming she must've seen the whole thing.

Maple simply shrugged, "Nothin', I guess." She tried to dismiss the fact that that cute guy was kinda cuckoo. But like her parents always taught her, 'never judge a book by its cover' or 'a person by their looks', or 'a game by its cover'... even though they were master at judging.

"Maybe he had trouble with the toilet paper." She went on, "Y'know how airplane restrooms are so poorly designed."

"Ugh… tell me about it." Dad rolled his eyes, just the thought of it. Maple smiled, suddenly believing in that lie after Dad bought it. Yeah, that was it. Maybe THAT was the problem.

Jace and Hunt finally made their way back into their seats. Hunt dumped Jace back into his seat and glared at him for a good minute before rolling his eyes. Jace was still staring, eye-bogglingly into space.

"What just happened?"

"No." Hunt shook his head, "The question is what's wrong with you?"

Jace glowered at his friend, "Me?" he poked on his own chest, "You're the one who made a dyslexic joke. What is wrong with _you_? That's discrimination."

Hunt pointed near Jace's face, "You could have just told the stewardess the truth."

Jace glared back at Hunt, "What truth?" he suddenly grabbed on his shoulder, panic flooded his face again, "Hunt, do you know something?"

"Yeah. I do." Hunt replied, "The moment you entered the restroom you tripped and hit your head on the toilet pretty hard, drowning on the sticky water."

Jace quickly removed his hands off Hunt in disgust, "Ew."

"Yeah. Ew." Hunt said, "You were out like a light the entire flight!"

Jace blinked, staring back into space. Now Hunt looked worried.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"…maybe I_…" _he hesitated, "Maybe _I _must have been dreaming…"

xXx

Back at Nintendo Corp.,

A door burst open, catching all attention within the board meeting room. It was a young employee. Sporting an ebony spiky hair and wearing a blue collar shirt with black dress pants, he exhaled heavily,

"Sir, there's been a security breach at the 3D Demo Lounge!" he shouted in grave panic. "One of the 3DS units is missing!"

The execs stood up, alerted, "What?!"

The young employee left without any further explanation. The execs followed in a rush. Dr. Dimentio and Jenn both exchanged worried glances before following behind.

Moments passed, and the executives and security staffs were all paying attention to the missing 3DS console that was on one of the demo booths.

"Who could have done something that despicable?" an officer said before facing some of the executives, "Do you recall having someone in this room within the last hour?"

"Not exactly within the last hour." Mr. Oiji said.

"But…" Mr. Saki suddenly remembering something turned to Dimentio's direction, "…our engineer Mr. Dimentio did invited his nephew and his friend here to try out our game."

"Yeah." Dimentio agreed, "I don't think they would've done something like that."

"Wait a minute…" a very familiar came in the room, and in was the officer who arrested Jace, Hunt and Jenn last night: Officer Raiku, "Is it your nephew… the delinquent Jacen Riders?"

"Okay look." Dr. Dimentio started, "My nephew is NOT a delinquent! He is a very bright young man! And do you know who you're speaking to? You're talking about the son of a very noble man. My brother."

"Yeah, yeah, we all know of your brother's history and what happened to him…" Raiku dismissed, "…but still, we're talking about a serious crime here."

"Look, officer." Jenn said, "I know my cousin. He may be a lot of things, but he's not a thief. He happens to own his very own 3DS and he wouldn't do something like this unless…!"

She stopped suddenly, the words dying away in her throat, and her eyes frozen in sudden realization. "…unless…"

Raiku ignored her and went back to the investigation with the other and the executives. Only Dimentio noticed that stare on her face. That actually meant something.

"Honey…?" he asked nervously, "honey, what's wrong?"

She slowly turned to stare blankly at the 3DS console on the special pedestal by the far wall. She crept toward it.

She leaned up close to it, examining its color, its glow… it was then that she knew, exactly, what was inside on that pedestal, "I don't believe this…" I whimpered, shaking her head, then let out a powerful cry that made the whole world hear her.

"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCE!"

xXx

The plane landed in New York, dispersing its passengers onto JFK Airport. Jace and Hunt were starting NYU the next day, and they had one more stop to go to: NYU. Located in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, it was the place to be. They were going to go get their books, pay their tuitions with the remaining summer funds and rent dorms where they will stay. After all, Jace and Hunt have been best friends since Pre-K, and going to the same college together brings out a whole new experience to share with each other.

Maple and her parents collected their suitcases at the place where the suitcases are dropped off. Their next destination wasn't a college, since Maple was still not old enough to attend high school. It was off to Aunt Claris. She was her mom's sister and the richest person in the world, richer than even Oprah. Let the spoiling begin, she thought.

But none of them knew they were gonna be followed. A bluish glow shimmered from inside the suitcase tunnel and Bowser shot out of there like rocket, his body slammed right onto a row of suitcases.

Bowser blinked back his dizzied eyes and stared at a crowd of people flocking over him. They looked different. Their faces, their shapes. They had no drawing outlines over them. No bright textures. They were definitely NOT from around here…

…or maybe it was _him _who wasn't from around here.

"Grrr… Warf! Warf!" he barked ferociously and the crowd stepped back, dispersing out of the way while emitting fearful chatters.

The Koopa King tried to stand up but the moving convair belt made him slip and he crashed on more suitcases. He angrily shoved the suitcases out of the way and rolled off the convair belt. Immediately the crowd spread out, wailing in panic.

"Yeah, you better stay away from me you freaks!" he snarled before taking a moment to look around. The high ceiling had a skylight, pouring its afternoon light over a large vast room filled with people running around with bags and suitcases. Large black screens displayed green text and numbers. Some woman was speaking, filling her voice in the air like a god.

"What _is _this place?" he wondered, his red eyes studying his surroundings. He turned back to the convair belt and dug through the suitcases, tossing them out of the way, "Hey, Ganondorf? Mewtwo?" he barked but no response.

"YO!" he roared, his vicious loud voice sent a reverberating ripple of fear across the airport. All heads whipped to his direction. More people who saw him gingerly gathered again around him from a couple of feet away. They were just as mesmerized by his different look as he was, but Bowser paid no direct attention to them.

He looked around, biting his lower lip. All the villains were gone and it was just him now. "Where could they be?"

A cartoonish whisper tickled his ears and he turned around. The crowd of people were still looking nervously at him. They were talking, but that voice wasn't them. The voice filled his ears again, but this time he felt something itchy in his red hair. He went for it and fished out a walkie-talkie. He clicked the volume up.

"…Master Bowser?" it was a Koopa. "…where are you? Where _are_ we?"

"Koopas?" Bowser said, "Where are your troops?"

He then heard static, someone said 'gimme that' rudely, then another voice came in, "We're all here, Daddy!" it was Bowser Jr. "All in one piece and all in a really strange place."

"Strange place?" Bowser started walking, the earth trembled with every step he took. The crowd dispersed out of his way, "What do you mean you're in strange place? You see them too?"

"Yeah," Bowser Jr. said, "they all look like… PlayStation human characters. Only they are way weirder."

"Glad I'm not the only one who sees them, but that's where the 3rd Dimensional Sphere sent us and now that witch of Medusa and her posse are missing!" Bowser complained.

"What's going on, Dad?"

"Major crisis." Bowser said, "Is my troops' with you?"

"Yeah?"

"We're trying to find the 3rd Dimensional Screen. It's a very precious artifact and it must be found." Bowser spotted a hot dog stand. He dug his entire hand on a pile of sausages and shoved them down his throat. The vendor was too terrified to demand his payment.

"It could be anywhere in this…" He gazed at the airport once more, "…giant castle."

"So you want me and my troops to find it for you, Dad?"

Bowser spotted the exit and almost choked on the sausages. About twelve feet from him he saw two young men, late teens. One was blond with glasses and in a khaki colored uniform. The other had spiky black hair in street clothes and held something in his hand, glittering under the sunlight. It was red and had the Smash symbol on it just like in Nergal's vision… the 3rd Dimensional Screen.

"No way…"

"Dad?"

Bowser's stunned expression slowly flickered to a vicious glow of anger. "The meddling hooligan… is the White Knight?"

"Daddy, what's going on?"

Bowser followed his two targets; the walkie-talkie so close to his lips, his breath practically made its silicon melt. "Change of plan." He barked rapid-fire-like, "Find me and you'll find the 3rd Dimensional Screen. No wait! Find this kid and his friend. Late-teens. Wears a white shirt, blue jeans, black shoes; spiky black hair and skin of Adonis." His eyes narrowed warily, "Pretty boy look."

There was silence on the other side.

"The 3rd Dimensional Screen… is with this kid. Find him, and bring him to me. Now." With that he crushed his walkie-talkie with his bare hand and stalked on.

xxx

Jace, Hunt and Maple all got off the airport with no knowledge of each other's company. Jace and Hunt managed to catch a cab. But Maple and her family easily got one ride: Claris' limo driver waited for them carrying a white card with the family's name written on it in black marker. Both the cab driver and the limo driver were nice enough to help with the heavy suitcases. The Reid had a 20-minute drive to Claris's place. To Maple's surprise it was inside the most expensive hotel in NYC: the Plaza. Jace and Hunt's trip to NYU however was a 30-minute drive, counting out the distant traffic always blocking the freeways every afternoon.

"Okay… so you were dreaming… about what exactly?" Hunt asked Jace as the cab rode down an Interstate.

"I don't know." Jace shrugged, "One minute I was in the toilet and then the next minute, I was in the middle of a forest. And then I saw one of the stewardesses from the plane and she…" Jace hesitated, "…well, she kinda… attacked me…."

"She attacked you?"

"Yeah. She attacked me."

"Who attacked you?" the cab driver jumped into the conversation. He had an Indian accent.

"Some stewardess attacked him on the plane." Hunt replied.

"Hey!" Jace snapped, "It wasn't like that guys!" he chuckled nervously, "It was a dream!"

"Did you do something inappropriate to her that pissed her off?" the cab driver asked. Hunt stifled.

"No!" Jace's eyes widened, "Nooo!" he said again in deep voice, "_Nothin'_ like that man! I was…" Jace hesitated, "Okay, we can all establish that she was hot before I saw the whole face job... can we change subjects?"

Hunt and the cab driver laughed. The laughter turned contagious as well and Jace couldn't help but laugh either.

xXx

An airport shuttle bus just zipped past 3rd Avenue and East 59th Street. Bowser leapt from the top of the vehicle and landed hard on the concrete, making a dent on it. People around him quickly got out of his way, murmuring in awe and panic at his sight.

But none of that bothered Bowser, since his attention was on something else. Apartment buildings and skyscrapers stood tall, towering over him like giants. Cars zipped across from different direction. The Koopa King was in awe of his surroundings.

"So many castles…" he muttered, "what kind of kingdom is this?"

He finally noticed the crowd's attention.

"Ugh, people…" He muttered, "So intimidating." He turned around and jumped. A bunch of male mannequins stood in model pose behind a boutique glass, sporting the latest fall jackets and winter coats. One of them had a trenchcoat on. A smirk came to his face.

"Why hello there, Fighting Wire Frames… or Fighting… white…plastic men." He glued his face to the window, "Mind if I borrow one of your outfits?"

xXx

"Ohhh… My gosh."

Maple's mom breathed in awe to the sea of buildings towering before them from inside the limo. Thousands of billboard signs-neon or not-graced the city as well. They would've arrived at Claris's place, but they had asked the driver for a quick sightseeing as detour.

They crossed Madison Avenue, they passed by 34th Street, the Empire State Building, Times Square… They even passed by Ground Zero. The place, now a national memorial piece of what remained of the Twin Towers and those who died with them. Every single one of these places called for thousands of pictures into Mom's camera. Souvenirs that'll last generations.

Finally they were passing by Central Park, and there stood with its gracious splendor, an exquisite hotel known as the Plaza. Maple sighed, dreamily staring at the place.

The limo stopped by the entrance and the driver as he got out said, "We're here!" he opened the passenger's door for the parents and Maple. The parents got out, ecstatic. Maple just stood there with astonishment all over her face.

"Wait... We're... here?"

"Yeah, honey." Mom laughed, noticing her daughter's face, "where did you think we're going?"

"Aunt Claris's place."

"Maple. This IS Aunt Claris's place." Dad pointed out.

"The Plaza?" she gasped and her parents nodded. She has seen the Plaza in movies and ever since then had the wishful thought that someday she will be living the Suite Life within its walls...

...she had no idea that someday was today!

A huge grin appeared on her lips as she got out the limo, "...COoooool!"

"Lovin' your new crib are you, sweet Maple?" The voice of a middle-aged strong independent woman called out from the Plaza entrance, signaling the visitors that Claris was here. Sporting a fancy rich ensemble, fair-skinned and not soggy from these anti-aging remedies, she greeted her family and all scurried into the building, beaming with smiles and dying to share with each other catch-up stories.

The limo driver and assisting bellboys came to help with the suitcases, but all failed to notice something hiding under a bush, couple of feet from the Plaza. They pulled out, revealing their petite forms: light-chocolate skin, sharp teeth pointing upward, big eyes and squishy bodies with no arms: Goombas. Walking turtles with green shells and red shells with wings and yellowish cold-blooded skins: Koopas.

A Para Koopa flipped open a phone and dialed a number. Seconds past the dial tone and the Para Koopa spoke, "Target acquired, milord."

Bowser Jr. was on the other line, prancing by Washington Square Park. The Koopa prince sported large trenchoat and a long fedora hat to hide his identity. That only got some people' attention.

"Good." he said, you keep an eye on him and you don't let him get away. You got it?"

The Para Koopa froze, "Him?" his voice cracked, "I only saw a 'she'."

Bowser Jr. straightened, "What?" he raised a brow, "What do you mean you only saw a she?"

"...well, actually, there was a he too," a Goomba added, "but the one you're looking for, doesn't exactly has the form that scream pretty boy, more like old and saggy..."

"Like a 40 year-old." A Goomba commented.

"Exactly." the Koopas agree.

"HEY!" Bowser Jr. hissed, "Daddy is gonna ask me if you minions have found that so-called 3rd Dimensional Screen yet. And that screen is supposed to be with a pretty boy with a friend! So the choice is clear! Find me a pretty boy! If you ever fail at that and Dad finds out I didn't cooperate, then I'm gonna have to take up your—!"

"Son!" Bowser's voice startled the junior. He hid his phone behind before facing his dad. He too wore a trenchcoat to hide himself.

"Hi, daddy!" he pulled back his lips to reveal his toothy grin.

"Found him yet?" he asked, "Don't forget about the great rewards I can offer you. Like your very own castle."

"Awww..." Bowser Jr. groaned, "My own castle just like all of my other castles. Yeah, listen. No sight of that screen you're looking for, or the person wielding it. Sorry."

Something inside Bowser's trenchcoat started beeping. Bowser pulled it up to reveal a Bob-Omb. The Bob-Omb had a GPS Screen on its stomach. Bowser glared at his son.

"…so none on sight huh?" a smile crept to Bowser's face, "Well, according to _this_ GP Bomb." He turned around and pointed, "It's in that yellow car!"

Bowser Jr. looked at the direction the Koopa king pointed and saw a yellow cab breezing past them. Jace and Hunt were inside.

"All we need to do now is to follow that yellow car." Bowser barked.

"A GP Bomb?" Bowser Jr. lit up, "Isn't that a Bob-Omb that acts like a GPS device pinpointing the location of anything it sees? Now why didn't I think of that?"

Bowser smacked his son on the head. "Idiot!"

"Ow…" Bowser Jr. moaned in pain.

"Because when it does find its location, it automatically explode." Bowser explained, "and I ain't letting my son close to it."

"Uhh... Dad?" Bowser Jr. sounded nervous.

"What?"

"It's close to me!"

Bowser noticed the GPBomb glowing bright red, signaling its detonation any second. The two Koopa screamed.

Turning right onto 3rd Street West, Jace and Hunt shortly arrived at their destination: New York University. Of course like Maple, they had failed to notice Nintendo characters stalking them. They got off the cab, got their suitcases, and Hunt gladly paid the cab driver. Suddenly they heard an explosion nearby. All heads whipped up to its directions, and the siren from a fire truck was immediately heard.

The cab driver sighed, "Guess I'm gonna have to take a detour."

The two friends laughed, "Guess so." Jace said.

"Hey, thanks for the ride man." Hunt said.

"Hey, no problem." the driver said, "You guys are cool kids. Good luck in school now."

"Will do." they said and they were off to the admissions office.

The two friends checked in with admissions and got their class schedules. Soon it was off to the bookstore to get the books and finally they paid along with the books their tuitions with their scholarships funds. Yes, even Jace had scholarships. Just because he was a troublemaker doesn't mean he's not bright. After all, he was a nerd in the past.

Sadly for the two friends all the dorm rooms and buildings were booked and there were no openings to request one. Luckily for them one of the students requested them to stay at a hotel nearby the University. It was a 10-minute drive from the campus and it provided all students attending the University a student-only special discount at various choices of suites. The Hotel was surprisingly, the Plaza!

Hunt asked the office for confirmation to the claim and it was true. With the Plaza Student-only Discount, any student could book any room just as long as they can afford to pay back the remaining loans not covered by the discount service.

As tempting as it was, he was nervous about taking that student offer. The Plaza was one of the richest high-class five-star hotels in Manhattan. The lobbies, the suites, the dining halls and shopping center were quite exquisite, according to what he read on the Internet. The service there was excellent enough to make any guests feel like they were treated with royalties.

Jace however thought it was a great idea to try it out. To even reassure his best friend, he offered that they'll find a small job to cover remaining expenses, that way their scholarships won't get affected. Possibly a job at Nintendo World Store.

So now Hunt was up for the challenge and the guys once again left the University for the Plaza-a 10-minute ride by taxi-and entered the lobby.

The lobby of the hotel was twice as stylish as that of the Hilton Hotel, with revolving doors, grand waiting areas to the left and right, adjacent to the manager's desk, lots of alcoves leading to different places in the hotel… the place was quite spacious, and filled with people from all over. NYC may be big but the Plaza could fit one small town under one roof.

"Ohh… well if it isn't college students." spoke the manager of the hotel who was tending to the customers by his desk. He didn't look too enthusiastic to see Hunt and Jace in the lobby. Especially Jace. Jace also had his attention on him.

The manager was a large 50-something years old African American with grayish Hitler-style mustache and large crazy-looking chestnut eyes behind large grayish round frames. At one point, Jace thought he looked like a chameleon on the prowl. He wore a four-piece Armani black suit with a purple handkerchief to the front pocket and matching tie.

Usually older people who get to know Jace are scared of him. But that guy… Jace was scared of him. Scary, not because of the Hitler look and the chameleon-like face, but because he looked like someone he shouldn't be messing with, for he could give him a hard time without even lifting a finger.

Jace managed to smile, "Greetings to you too, sir Uhh..." he peeked at his tag name, only to see half of the name covered by the handkerchief, "…Bell?"

"It's Bell_dam_."

"Yeah, I like Bell better."

Belldam forced a smile.

"We're here to book a suite." Hunt said, "And we want to take advantage of the student-only discount."

"I figured you would ask for it." Mr. Belldam said, his face still hard as rock. He turned to the computer before him, clicked a couple of times and a nearby printer started working. "But first you'll have to fill out some forms. It won't take you long. And as you do we'll book you a suite each."

"Great!" the two boys cheerfully said.

Unbeknownst to them, the stalking Koopas and one Goomba were spotted in group behind a fern plant.

"Target spotted." Goomba said, "…I think."

"You think?" The green Koopa hissed, "We have to know if these guys are the targets or not!"

"Well, Bowser Jr. wants someone with a pretty boy look; and obviously according to the GPBomb that exploded in their faces…" the Goomba nudged his head to Jace's direction, "…that guy was spotted. And he's a pretty boy."

"Okay, do you have an obsession with pretty boys?"

"No I envy them. They got beautiful skins and arms, while we Goombas got bug-eyed mushroom skins and pointy teeth. Worse we don't even HAVE arms!"

"Oh, would you two quit your bellyaching?" The red Para Koopa exhaled, before facing the Goomba, "At least you're squishy."

"OHMYGOSH, Mommy!" a squealing kiddy cry startled the enemies. Goomba suddenly felt his legs tugged and got pulled out of the fern plant by a little 7-year old girl. She rubbed her plum cheeks on the Goomba, squealing, "I WANT THAT TOY! IT'S SO CUTE! SO ADORABLE!"

The two Koopas tried to get to their friends when they two got hauled away by two more kids. This time they were boys: 5 and 3.

"Can we keep 'em, Mommy?!" The 5-year old inquired.

"PWWEEEEEEEEAAAASE..." they squealed with their most adorable voices that made it hard for the parents to negotiate. Even though the parents did see these Nintendo enemies: 3D Animated yet looking very family-friendly, it was questionable…

"Honey, we can't keep these." the mom said, "We don't know where they came fr—!"

"Aww... COMWOOONNN!" they whined, holding the enemies tight around their chests not willing to let go as the parents tried tugging the 'toys' off them and not cause a scene.

"We'll buy you all new ones!" their dad said.

"GNOH! WE WANT THESE!" they protested.

"S-stop it! Stop it! You're killing m-meeee…" the Goomba hissed. So did the Koopas.

"Okay, that thing talked." Mom pointed at the Goomba, "I don't think it's safe. And what if it bites you with its teeth?!"

The spoiled kids didn't listen. They went on their tantrum and quickly ran away from their parents. The parents followed and they disappear further into the hotel.

Maple was then spotted nearby, touring the lobby when she noticed Jace and Hunt. Her eyes on Jace sent butterflies on her stomach. Once again she blushed. She quickly went to a small sitting area, grabbed the _New York Times _on the coffee table and hid her face behind the pages. She failed to notice on the international cover of the newspaper about the case of the stolen 3DS at Nintendo Corp.

She slowly peeked over to spy on the guys.

"We should go for the Royal Terrace Suite." Jace proposed.

"One of the most expensive of suites that comes with two-bedrooms, right?" Mr. Belldam said

"Wait... It's expensive?"

"Everything in this hotel is expensive." Mr. Belldam mumbled, "Even the dustbunnies here are expensive. They make diamonds look cheap."

Jace beamed, "Really? Sweet! Sell a bunch of them and I'll be instant millionaire."

Mr. Belldam rolled his eyes.

"Wait a minute; we can't take the most expensive of suites." Hunt reasoned, "We have to go lower than that." he paused briefly, "We should get singles. How about… the Rose Suite? It's least expensive and can cover our budget?"

"Still elegant but with one set of rooms each?" Jace nodded in agreement, "I like it. But we should take the one with the view."

"Okay." Hunt sighed, "…but just one room with the view. You'd have to pay for the expenses."

Jace beamed, "I'll gladly take it."

"Certainly." Mr. Belldam continued to type on the information on his computer. After yet another minute, he handed over the hotel keys to the two friends, "Here are your keys to your rooms. It's on the 10th Floor. Rooms 1030 and 1045. Our bellboys will tend to your belongings. Enjoy your stay at the Plaza." he narrowed his eyes, "I'll be watching."

Hunt gulped, "Uhhh… Thanks!"

"You know for a manager, you're kinda weird." Jace commented before cracking a smirk, "I like it."

"Don't." Mr. Belldam muttered.

The two friends went to their rooms as the bellboys tend to their belongings. Maple watched them leave, and soon dropped the newspaper and scurried down to the nearby concierge desk. She grabbed a pen from the pen box, snapped a yellow sticky note, and scribbled down the numbers, "1030 and 1045", and on the next line, "10th Floor." And with a period she said, "Got it." She dropped the pen down, "Thank you!" she cheerfully said to the concierge on the desk, and turned around.

Bump! Her body ran right on someone else's body.

"Whoops!"

"OW!"

She looked up and there was the Japanese guy with the boxing coat on, standing back in recoil. His coat was opened to reveal his blue shorts, white undershirt, and boxing shoes on. No boxing gloves yet.

She grinned. "Oh! So sorry there. But I gotta—!"

"Could you like watch where you going next time, princess?" the guy interjected, his blue-green eyes slanting into a scowl.

"Oh!" Maple turned red, not of embarrassment but of anger, "_I _should watch where _I'm _going? Well, excuuuuse me, _princess_! _You _should be the one to watch where you're going. I mean, seriously. This is New York City, not _Punch-Out _City! People are supposed to be in either formalwear or casualwear, and you are dressed up like everyday is Boxing Day!"

The guy sighed, "Everyday _is _a Boxing Day…"

"Plus!" she went on, "This ain't Halloween either! So you better—!"

Maple paused, suddenly staring at the guy in stunned recognition.

"Hey wait a minute… I know you!" her red face darkened and twisted into a knot, "Oh my gosh, are you stalking me?"

The Japanese guy raised his eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"No, no. _Excuse_ yourself." Maple snapped, "I'm trying to enjoy my vacation with my family here and meet this really…" she stressed, "…important person I met recently on the plane here and you're blocking my view! And… Ohh, I get it. Maybe you're jealous of him. So you're trying to settle the score by trying to impress me by calling me names and dressing up like that! Ew! What a creep!"

The guy shook his head, completely confused on the situation but already ticked off. "Okay I'm sorry… you know what?" he composed himself before he could seized that chance to hit Maple on the face, "I was wrong. You were right. You should go for the love of your life. Now what was his name again, Teddy Bear or your imaginary friend?"

Maple's jaws dropped. The guy breezed right past her, leaving her in a frozen state of shock. She managed to work her jaws, then finally thawed out, she groaned, "UUUGGGGH! You know what?" she chuckled, "Oh-HO! The next time I'm gonna see you—!"

"Maple?"

She turned around at the sound of her name. She saw a young girl in her 16. She had slightly dark skin with honey brown eyes. She was African-American and was sporting a dark-purple bluish blouse and some nice blue denim jeans. Maple's furious scowl immediately altered to a bright light of joy at her sight.

"Pat?!"

The 16-year old girl Pat, full name Patricia Turner, beamed the moment Maple called her and the two girls went for a tight hug, squealing, "Oh my gosh! It's you! It's good to see you!"

"I can't believe this!" Maple faced her friend.

"Me too!" Pat exclaimed, "How long has it been, girl?"

"Only three years! I can't believe this!" Maple then sighed, "…ohh, I'm so glad to see you. You just lifted my spirits up."

"I bet I did." Pat said, giving a quick glance at the departing Japanese boxing guy, "Looks like you had a little issue there with that guy. Who's he?"

Maple threw her hand in dismissal, "Oh, it's not important. Some jerk who sat by my dad, trying to make a move on me."

"Oh, your parents are here?" Pat blinked, "…in this rich hotel?"

"Yeah, we're visiting our Aunt Claris! We'll be here a while. What about you?"

"Visiting my uncle."

"Check it out!" Maple flipped open to reveal Jace and Hunt's room numbers, "I got cute boys' room numbers!"

Pat's eyes went wide, "No way." She grinned, "I love cute boys!"

"Yeah, but I call dibs on this _really_ cute one I met on the plane!" Maple said, "I don't know his name but, I want you to find out for me. He has jet black spiky hair, the most beautiful green eyes like in the prairie…"

Pat blinked, "…but how come you aren't going up there yours—?"

Maple went behind Pat and started shoving her up the stairways, "Would you just go?"

"Allright girl! No pushin'!"

Bowser Jr. popped its tiny mischievous head from a fern plant after spying briefly on the girl. He went on his two-way walkie-talkie. "Is everything ready?"

"Operation Ambush is underway, sir." The red Para Koopa replied on his two-way as well. He had Goomba on his back and the Green Koopa holding on to his feet. All three were airborne, spying on Jace's Rose Deluxe Suite behind the railings of his balcony. "Target is on sight."

"Good. Don't screw things up this time. Dad… is watching." Bowser Jr. gave Bowser a quick thumbs-up. Bowser who was in his trenchcoat disguise returned the signal before glaring around the lobby again.

"The 3rd Dimensional Screen shall be mine..." Bowser grumbled under his breath, "...even if it means stabbing my family and allies in the back." on cue he glowered at Bowser Jr. The tiny Koopa gulped.

"You heard it people." The Para Koopa said to his comrades, "Operation Ambush must not be a failure!"

Jace whipped his head out toward the balcony and the shadows of the three enemies vanished on sight. He blinked. He stepped over to the balcony, slid the door open and went to the railings. His pupils scanned left and right, briefly at the many illuminated skyscrapers of New York then turned his head back and forth. He then looked down over the railings and finally above him.

Nothing.

"Huh!" he muttered, "I could've sworn I saw something." he shrugged, "...eh. Must be the wind."

He turned around and went back to his suite, closing sliding door behind him. The Koopas and Goomba were glued to a wall right below the railings, which Jace failed to notice. The Para Koopa struggled to hold on to his friends.

"I don't... th-think we're... r-ready for th-this..." The red Para Koopa gasped.

"Y-you th-think...?" Goomba grimaced in pain. Para Koopa had apparently squished him when he glued himself to the wall.

"...d-don't ... Let me... G-GOoo!" the green Koopa struggled on the Para Koopa's leg.

xXx

It had taken the guys couple of minutes to unpack, change their clothes and unwind in their single rooms.

Hunt entered Jace's room, grinning, "So, tell me."

"Oy…" Jace rolled his eyes.

"What was it like getting beat up by a girl?"

Jace frowned, "I didn't get beat up by a girl. I got beat up by a weird looking creature!"

Hunt gave him a stare. Jace, admitting defeat, rolled his eyes again, "Okay fine… I got beat up by a girl… but the part about her not being an actual girl is true."

"You really ARE serious here." Hunt closed the door behind him, interested.

"Yeah." Jace sat on one side of the bed and Hunt sat next to him, "She was like… some weird humanoid creature."

"Hmm…" Hunt nodded, "A creature. Got it… like _E.T._ creature or more like _Killer Freaks_?"

"Dude, I'm being serious. You said it y'self."

Hunt chuckled, "And you, my friend, are being delusional. You know what you need?"

Hunt pulled out of his pocket the Smash-engraved Nintendo 3DS and handed it to Jace. The Koopas and Goomba saw the device and quickly got restless, "oh my gosh... It's that thing! It's that thing! The 3rd Dimensional Screen!"

"No way...! Milord was right!" the Goomba hissed.

"Milord is ALWAYS right!" Green Koopa hissed.

"You need to relax with a little bit of _Super Smash Bros. 3D_." Hunt said to Jace as Jace took the portable console, "Y'know. The one you stole from Jenn and have been regretting that decision for almost 24 hours Tokyo time?"

Jace smirked, "Dude. I'm not regretting my decision."

"Oy." Now Hunt rolled his eyes.

"Jenn can make another one of these." Jace said, smiling as he went to recline on one of the sofas close to the balcony door, "It's only the demo. Not the real game. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?" he flipped open the 3DS. That got his unknown uninvited guests from outside the balcony freak out some more.

"He flipped the device up! At any rate, he's gonna use its full extended power!" the Koopa hissed.

"Well, DO SOMETHING!" Bowser Jr. was heard screaming from the two-way, "Break into the room and initiate Operation Ambush NOW!"

_Knock-knock-knock._

Everyone heard knocks on the front door, a distance away from the bedroom suite.

"...great. Someone else is here." Goomba mumbled, "At any rate we won't be able to ambush him."

Hunt stood up and went for the door, "Y'expecting someone?" he asked Jace, who just shook his head and went back onto the screen.

Hunt opened the door and there stood Pat.

"Hey-heyyy!" she cheerfully waved at the two guys. Hunt looked back at Jace who threw a quick glance at their new neighbor, then back at Hunt, and then back into his game. Hunt turned back to Pat.

"Uhh... Hi." Hunt smiled back nervously. Pat had a smirk plastered on her face that made Hunt really uncomfortable. "Can I…?"

"Help you?" Pat shook her head, "No. I'm here to help you, new roomie!"

Hunt blinked, "Roomie?"

"I'm Patricia!" she pointed at herself, "Patricia Turner. But you can call me Pat too."

"Oh!" Hunt smiled, "So you're a student at NYU?"

"No you silly!" Pat threw a hand in dismissal, "I'm still in high school! I'm 16! I live next door like two doors down the—!" she gasped, "…are you guys college students?"

"We kinda are." Jace joined in the conversation. "Hi. My name's Jace." He offered Pat a handshake and she gladly took it, "And this is my best friend Hunt. And uh… you kinda cute."

Pat froze, her cheeks flushed a rosy color, "I… I am?"

"No." Jace chortled, "But Hunt does think so. He's interested."

"Wait…" Hunt glanced back at Jace then back at Pat then back again at Jace again, flushing pink also, "what?"

"Come on." Jace shoved Hunt out the door, "Give our friend Pat a quick tour. Or a long one. Hotel's big. Just enjoy."

"Jace!" Hunt yelped but Pat couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Bye-bye guys!" Jace closed and locked the door to Hunt and Pat's faces and quickly hopped back to his sofa, 3DS still on.

"…and _hello_ Smash."

Hunt and Pat exchanged glances at each other. Hunt grinned, "I gotta apologize for my friend Jace in there. See, he's... kinda cuckoo."

Pat shrugged, "Sounds more like he's cuckoo over his 3DS right now. But I don't blame him. It's a really cool little device right now."

Hunt froze up, already lost attention to her after she said "Cuckoo over 3DS". _Uh-Oh, she was onto him._ He stepped back, "Oh my gosh, you're not working with the police now are you?"

"Uhh... Wh-!"

"Because that was ALL him! And I had NOTHING to do with all of this!"

"Boy would you just chill?" Pat exclaimed, "I'm talking about his 3DS because I have one just like his! I like video games too!"

"Oh..." Hunt immediately calmed down, "You do?"

"Yeah! I can't wait for _Smash Bros. 3D_ though. It's gonna be hot!" her face suddenly lit up, "Oh my gosh, I forgot! You have GOT to meet my girl Maple! She and I go way back! I just met her down stairs! Come meet and greet!"

"Oh, ok...whoa!" Pat tugged Hunt by the arm and the duo scurried off.

Back in his room, Jace was about to tap on the Smash icon when he stopped to notice a blue orb underneath the icon.

"Ooh… notification."

Jace hesitated again, "Wait. Notification?" he blinked, flipped the 3DS back to stare around its sleek design.

Back outside the balcony, Bowser Jr. spoke on the enemies' two-way, "what's the status of the target?"

"He's alone now. With the 3rd Dimensional Screen... which he strangely call it the 3DS."

Bowser snatched the two-way from his son and barked, "IDIOT!" his voice shot up from the two-way like an erupted volcano, "3DS is the acronym of the device! He KNOWS what that thing is..." his sharp red eyes went wide, "Whatever you do, do NOT let him touch the activation icon on the screen! It'll reverse everything we villains have worked hard on! Worse, it'll free MARIO!"

"WHAAA?!" Bowser Jr. squawked.

Jace continued to stare at the portable system, "…but it's a demo." he thought, "There can't be any notifica—!"

He paused again, staring mesmerizingly into space, "…maybe… it's the real game." He quickly shook his head, "Nah, get ahold of yourself Jace. It's not a… real game. It's still the demo…" he smacked his lips, "…a two-hour long demo of pure goodness, which featured all characters from the _Brawl_ title and then ten new ones already revealed to the public, with the full cast still likely to be revealed to the Internet, which I knew thanks to my position in the Nintendo—aww, screw it!"

"HE'S GOING FOR THE TOUCH SCREEN!" the enemies squealed.

"ATTTAAAAACK!"

The enemies charged toward the suite but too late. Jace tapped on the icon and a bright light fired from the top screen, overwhelming the suite. The enemies flew backward in response to the light at such ridiculous speed it was as if they got slung into the sky by a slingshot. Their scream vanished into the city night.

Jace suddenly noticed the screen blank white. He blinked, looking around, "What just happened?"

It then suddenly started shaking.

"Okay… why is it shaking?" Jace blinked, "Why is it? H-Hey!" he smacked the 3DS at its side, "Stop it!"

The 3DS suddenly vibrated Jace violently."WHOA!"

Back in the lobby, Bowser Jr. could hear the enemies again. He and Bowser looked at each other then ran out the lobby. Finally outside and able to see the balcony to Jace's suite on board Bowser's trusty Clown Copter, Bowser's anger tensed at the commotion inside.

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" his scream rendered the city skies.

Another bright light blasted before them and the two Koopas saw themselves flying straight into Central Park's dense forest.

Jace found himself suspended in the air. The 3DS was still shaking him all about, and flashing the brightest most frightening light of all. "WH-H-H-H-H-H-H-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A- A-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H! W-W-W-WH-H-H-H-A-A-A-AT-S-S-S GO-O-O-O-O-I-I-I-I-N-N-N-N-G-G-G-G-G-O-O-O-O-O-ON- N-N-N-N-N-N?!"

The 3DS suddenly flew across the room, still taking Jace—who was still gripping on it—with him, "AAAAH! AAAAAH! AAAAAH!"

He knocked down a lamp stand, slammed on the top-to-bottom glass slide door leading to the balcony overlooking the evening city sky, slammed a couple more times on the walls, bounced on the bed. Jace did NOT like that roller coaster ride.

"Stop it! Stop it 3DS! Stop it now! Please! UWWWWAAAAAAH!"

He let go off the 3DS and tumbled hard, knocking down the sofas and small table before landing onto the carpeted floor. He looked up and watched the 3DS, suspended in the air. The 3DS turned to face him, its double screen still bright of light glaring. Jace froze, heart beating up his chest, hands shaking... It was like something out of the Twilight Zone. And Jace, being a thrill-seeker was TERRIFIED by anything supernatural.

"Ohhh my…"

The 3DS shook violently once more. The city skies turned gloomy and dark and flashes of lightning and grumbling thunder were heard. Jace stared in awe. He could have jumped back to his feet and grabbed the portable console but he was too shocked to even move, glaring upon the surreal event. What the hell was going on with the 3DS?!

Before he knew it, the 3D screen of the console shimmered in a bright light. The entire room turned white and Jace felt as if suspended into space. He shielded his eyes. The 3D screen no longer a faint light was as overwhelming as the sun. It was blinding. It was too painful to see what was going on. Jace's entire vision overwhelmed him. Next thing he knew, everything went black...

xXx

The two Koopas and Goomba pushed Bowser's heavyweight unto his feet. Bowser was coming back to his senses.

"M-milord?" The Para Koopa asked, "Are you well? Are you hurt?"

Bowser glowered at his minions, "...hurt?" he blinked, "...HURT?!" his voice blasted off a powerful gust from his jaws. The enemies panicked.

"THE ONE THING I WANNA HURT THE MORE IS YOUR BONES AND THAT GROUND BEEF Y'ALL CALL A BRAIN! THAT'S HOW I ROLL! NOW GET OUTTA MY FACE!"

The enemies dispersed in panic, leaving Bowser all alone. Fists clenched and a vein popping out on his forehead, he sneered the name, "...Jacen Riders. I will ruin you... R-R-R-R-U-U-U-U-I-I-I-I-N-N-N-N-N-N...!"

xXx

Jace flicked his olive eyes open, waking up from his unconsciousness. He didn't know how long he was asleep. All he knew was that he was out for a long time. He just doesn't remember what put him that way. His weary eyes gazed at the clock. It read 9:15.

_…are-a you okay?_

He heard a distorted voice overwhelming his sense. He also noticed a blurry picture circling around his mind. He blinked a couple of times, finally clearing the blurriness up and he immediately saw a complete stranger right in front of his face… he had big blue eyes, a large squishy looking nose, mustaches and a red hat….

An animated-3D character?!

He blinked again, completely clearing up the blurriness off. He was awake. Fully awake. But what he saw was something right out of a dream. Or a video game console.

He was staring right at Mario!

"UUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Jace cried out in terror.

"UUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Mario screamed as well.

The Nintendo plumber quickly jumped off Jace who quickly shuffled backward at this wondrous sight of Mario until he felt a wall behind him. His eyes stretched wide open and his jaws stretched up quivering.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" he yelled, pointing.

"Who am I?" Mario spoke his signature Italian accent, "Why it's-a me, Mario!"

"You… You're Mario…" his voice quivered in denial, "O-o-o-o-ohhh my gosh, you're Mario. In my room…"

Mario cocked his head on one side.

"Unless…" He quickly moved his hand toward his baseball bat on the floor, grabbed it and pointed at Mario. Mario stood still, "You're an impostor! Or… or… or a creature in disguise. That's it, you're a snake! Like that lady who turned into a spider! Yeah. And people thought I was delusional. I'm calling the cops!"

He quickly stood up, bat still pointing at Mario and went for the phone. Mario watched him puzzlingly.

Jace grabbed his cell but then he stopped himself, as he still stared at Mario. What was he gonna say to the police anyway? A 3D animated video game character broke into his house?

"But wait." He placed his phone down, "You… you really ARE Mario…! But y-you're not real!" he quivered.

Mario smiled broadly at Jace, "What are-a you talking about, I'm-a not real? Mario is-a always real! Lookee here!"

Mario magically brought a green pipe in the middle of the room and jumped into it. The green pipe vanished only to reappear right beside Jace and Mario came out of that pipe, magically changed in Broadway tuxedo suit and carrying a cane, "I'm-a many things. I'm-a magician!"

He did the same trick again, wearing a boxing referee outfit, "I'm-a boxing referee." he did it again, this time wearing tennis outfit and carrying a racquet, "I play tennis!" Again he popped in and out of the pipe as a rabbit, a raccoon, a statue, a frog, " I'm-a rabbit, I'm-a raccoon, I'm-a statue, I'm-a frog-!"

"Dude!" Jace rudely stopped Mario from transforming from his pipe again. The pipe vanished.

"I know who you are." He started calmly, "You're many things. But you're Mario! Super Mario! The greatest video game character in World History… and you're talking to ME!"

"I am!" Mario agreed cheerfully, before noticing the bat Jace was still holding, "Hey! You got-a my baseball bat!"

Mario got in and out of a pipe again and snagged the bat from Jace's hand. "AAH!" Jace jumped, startled. The creature—no, the Nintendo character Mario just touched him! If that wasn't a freak-out moment, he wouldn't know furthermore what it was.

"But how…" he stammered, "how can you be speaking to me? Alive?! And you just…" he stared at the hand that held his baseball bat, "…touch me." He then stared back at Mario, "And you're touching my bat!"

"Yeah… about that…" Mario said, "I had-a no idea."

"What?"

"_I said_…" Mario articulated, "_I had-a no idea_!"

Jace sat on his bed, looked away and held on his head like he was having a migraine. He was _still _talking to a video game character. "Oh, god. I need my uncle's sleeping pills. Fast."

"Y'see, one minute we were on Midair Stadium getting-a ready for the Smash Bros. Games and then before you know it, BAM! Me and _mi amici_ ended up battling Wire Frames and—! _Mamamia_!" Mario cut himself short; noticing the color on Jace's face was gone. He cocked his head on one side, "Are-a you okay?"

"Shut up." Jace muttered, gently rubbing on his temples.

"You look-a like-a Boo."

"Shut uuuhhp…" Jace looked up.

"Y'know, talkin' to yourself isn't good for you right?" Mario said.

Jace glared back at Mario with a scolding look, "Talkin' to myself?" he said, "Dude. I'm talking to _you_." he said in an almost-calm tone, "Which is _waaay _crazier than talking to myself. Even someone who talks to themselves everyday will _think_ I'm crazy."

"So now you see my point."

Then a lightbulb rang in Jace's head. He turned to stare at the Smash-engraved 3DS that was on the ground, "Wait a minute…" he stared back at Mario then back at the 3DS. Mario watched his glance and he too noticed the 3D device on the ground. He gasped, as if he finally got an idea of what just happened.

Jace quickly grabbed the 3DS, "You came out of that thing, right?" he pointed at Mario then at the 3DS, "I'm sending you back!"

"Wait a minute!" Mario stopped him, "That Nintendo 3DS. Where did you get it?"

"So you know what this is?"

"Yes. It's-a Nintendo 3DS. I'm-a not an illiterate."

"A what?"

"Oy, nevermind." Mario snatched the device from Jace's hands.

"HEY! Give it back!" Jace yelled.

"Do you realize what you are holding in your hands?" asked Mario.

"Err… the greatest videogaming device ever made by men?"

"A portal to the Nintendo World!" Mario stared back at the device, as if he just discovered Gold. "…that could mean one thing… and one thing only…"

Silence fell in the suite. Jace gave Mario a questionable look, "Are you superitalianplumber for real?"

Mario turned on the 3DS, placed it on the floor, grabbed Jace by the hand and began to back away from the 3DS, "Come on! Let's-a go!"

"What are you—!" Jace stopped talking, noticing what Mario was about to do. He quickly pulled out from his grasp, "Ohh no, buddy! I'm not gonna jump into my 3DS!"

"What are-a you talk-a-ting about?" Mario argued, "I need to find out if you have what it takes! To prove yourself!"

"Oh I have what it takes! To prove myself that I will BREAK that thing!" Jace argued back, "And I don't even know if this unit has warranty, and you haven't even told me what's going—?"

Mario magically pulled out a springboard from under Jace's feet, sending him flying off and straight into the 3DS, "…OOOHHHHNNN!" his scream echoed. Mario jumped into the 3DS also

.

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Koopas in 3D_


	3. Ep1:: Koopas in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Koopas in 3D_

* * *

Jace flew headlong into the shadows, no longer feeling the floor. It was as if he was dropping from high altitude without any parachute. Creepily enough he could sense that Mario was following his course, as if a stalker was at his tail. Everything spun wildly before him, his vision turned blur due to the high altitude, then an explosion of light blinded his sight, and he suddenly felt his weight hit the ground in a heavy slam.

He laid face down on cold concrete ground, with some feel of grass brushing near his eyes. He thought he would be dead after such fall but he was still breathing, though his breath was sharp in pain. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw that he was on the **Battlefield (SSBB)**. He pushed himself up to his feet and stared about in disbelief.

"Whoaa…" he breathed. The garden could've been a mixture of a garden and maybe a combo of some ancient Greek monument or the battered walls of an ancient palace.

His mind raced, trying to fit that sight before him into a mental picture of his room. But that proved impossible. Maybe the bricks were made of 3D graphics animation, patented by some high-tech patented haptic technology or something... THAT could be it!

...but none of it worked. The _Smash Bros. Brawl_ Battlefield was FREAKING real.

Should he be excited or freaking out, or should he be freaking-excited-out, he didn't know. But one thing he knew for sure was that this fantasy was NOT supposed to exist in real life but in dreams and in video-games only.

He turned to Mario who was still stocky and real to the eye, standing firmly in front of him, looking up to the dark reddish skies of the battlefield. He hastily went besides him and tapped on his shoulder repeatedly to get his attention.

"Mario?" Jace smiled genuinely, "Hi. How ya doin'? Listen… You know I love you, right?"

Mario smiled back and nodded, though he appeared preoccupied. Jace went on, "Like, I love you like this big," he spread his arms widely apart, "right? But seriously, you can't just come out of the blue and come into my room and TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY WORLD INTO THIS WORLD!"

Mario frowned, mind still preoccupied. But that didn't stop Jace, "You know, I HAVE A LIFE! I'M A HUMAN BEING—!"

"Shh." Mario pressed his finger to Jace's lips, "They're-a comin'." He withdrew from Jace and walked further down.

Jace frowned, "They're coming? Who's coming?" Jace followed reluctantly, "I don't see anyone—!"

Mario turned around, "Look out!" he lunged at Jace and tackled him to the ground, mere seconds before a large stone struck the platform right where Jace would've been in, violently creating a large crack on the battlefield. The two heroes stared at the rock that just fell. The rock, to Jace's eyes, morphed into a round sphere of digital lights and static: a Kirby version of a Wire Frame! The Wire Frame had eyes also… gleaming ones as bright as the sun but as terrifying as a ghost…

Mario got off Jace and struck a fighting pose. Jace shuffled backward, fear blanketed his face, "whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa…whhhhhaaaat is that thing?"

"A Fighting Wire Frame." Mario said.

"That is so not a Wire Frame. Wire Frames don't have eyes! They have like a red tattoo-like symbol on their face, and they're…"

"You can-a fight, right?" Mario interrupted.

"What?"

"Can-a you fight?"

"Well, I know a little judo, but…" Jace paused, "whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa…you want me to fight?"

"Jump!" Mario warned and the two took a leap right when the Kirby Wire Frame charged at them. They jumped back. They turned around and right before them was more Wire Frames. The army had them surrounded! And right before Jace was what struck him the most: a huge crowd of spectators on floating stands surrounding the whole battlefield as if a colosseum. Their roaring cheers of support and reverence resonated across the battlefield. Jace couldn't help but stare at his newly changed environment. These were the same crowd that cheered on before, he wondered.

"What… is that…?" he breathed.

Mario said nothing. He remained focused on the Wire Frames before him, though he couldn't help but notice the crowd as well.

[WELCOME TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF SUPER SMASH BROS. GAAAAMES!]

"Super… Smash…" Jace swallowed, fighting back this mix of fear and excitement he was having. He had tried, tried his hardest to think of this place as merely a dream. A dream that began with him playing _Super Smash Bros. 3D_. That dream then proceeded to the moment he struck his head really hard! Hard enough to make him see Mario, in his hotel bedroom; living, breathing, talking to him as if he was talking to a real-life person before him…

Next thing he knew he found himself standing in the middle of a 3D-animated battlefield in front of a mass crowd. But the crowd wasn't the issue. The big issue was the Wire Frames. They were about ten of them: half heavyweight, a third of them athletic, and the rest somewhere in the middle. The number may not be many but was still overwhelming enough to take them all at once, even though it looked easy in the game.

[GET READY TO SMASH MELEE AND BRAWL!] a cheesy host resonated from across the battlefield sounding like a game show host. He looked like a goofy-looking, square-faced, sandy haired Mii [HI EVERYBODY AND WELCOME TO THIS SPECIAL WIRE-FRAME BATTLE! I'M YOUR HOST, TRE (that's pronounced: _Three_)!]

[AND I'M YOUR HOST, DEEN!] Another Mii was next to him. He had a round fat plump face with messy blonde hair and droopy eyes.

[AND WELCOME TO _SUPER SMASH BROTHERS_!] Both Miis shouted out and the cheering crowd followed. Jace smirked at the names: Tre, Deen. Sounds like a bad pun to 3D.

[WE'RE HERE TODAY TO INTRODUCE TO Y'ALL OUR LATEST SMASH BROTHERS' GAMES NEWEST ADDITION TO THE ROSTER, JACE RIDERS, AS HE TEAMS UP WITH MARIO TO BATTLE 10 WIRE-FRAMES TO VICTORY!]

[SHOULD HE WIN, HE'LL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME PART OF THE ROSTER! SHOULD HE LOSE…]

The crowd roared with unease tension.

"What?!" Jace exclaimed, "If I lose…? What'll happen if I lose, man?!"

[yeah… you don't wanna know…]

[So…HERE… WE… GO!] They said together. Jace swallowed hard. Mario gave him a reassuring look, "Don't-a worry, Jace. You just let-a me handle this."

[READDDYYYYY…]

Mario whipped his head toward Jace, "Jace, watch out!"

[GO!]

Jace didn't have the chance to whip around when the first Wire Frame—a Captain Falcon version—shot by him with a flying fist across his jaws. Jace felt a blast of pain that flung him midair and crashed onto one of the battlefield's high platforms. He quickly recovered, pushing his arms up to a crouch position as another Wire Frame descended at him.

"Whoa!" He quickly rolled to his side. The Wire Frame landed on the platform with a furious pound. Jace staggered back to the ledge of the platform, but then a massive hand grabbed him by the ankle, "AAAHH!" he slipped onto another Wire Frame's grasp—a DK one!

The DK-WF gripped him hard on his shoulders and slammed his back to the ground. Jace cried out, his spine shattering to the ground by that connected force. The DK-WF then went for an elbow drive when a Bob-Omb sped toward it. A blast of explosion lit up before Jace, and his assailant flew off the battlefield. The crowd cheered.

Mario was now besides Jace. The plumber pulled him up to his feet then quickly lunged at his opponents. Fists and kicks were flying—a roundhouse kick from a Mario-WF came from above, but Mario ducked and launched an uppercut in return. A kick by another WF came from below and he side-flipped above its sender and nailed him with a double-kick from behind. A thrust of a punch and Mario swept back then came forward with a blast of fire out of his hand. The crowd cheered on at each strike. Jace was amazed by the performance Mario gave. Even more stunning, the WFs looked more weaker than expected. He grinned. Maybe they weren't so tough afterward.

Mario whipped around and snatched a Smart Bomb that just landed on the battlefield.

"Jump back!" he warned.

Jace quickly obeyed and with a good whirlwind swing he flung the item straight into another group of Wire Frames. A massive explosion quickly pulled the enemies into the blast, scoring a dozen cries from the Wire Frames and thousand cheers from the audience.

Jace looked back, staggering on the ledge of the platform. A Kirby WF lunged at him from behind with the rancid sharp teeth of a shark. Jace crouched, avoiding the attack, grabbed hold of the Kirby WF, twirled him and propelled him off the platform. The Kirby WF struck incoming WFs like a medicine ball launched off a slingshot and all went straight into the abyss.

Another Captain Falcon WF came swinging at Jace. Jace ducked the attack and threw a jumping spin hook kick, pounding the enemy's stomach and sent him soaring like a missile. A DK-WF descended with a meteor smash, swinging two fists together like a hammer, but Jace blocked the two fists, grabbed them and pulled the heavy DK over him with sheer force, slamming his heavy body to the ground. The landing caused friction across the battlefield that stunned nearby opponents.

Jace ran toward the stunned enemies, stomped on DK-WF as a springboard and launched himself at them, but then at that split second he felt himself pull down to the ground, tasted the floor, and the next thing he knew he was upside-down. DK-WF had grabbed him by the ankle mid-flight. Jace struggled to break free, but the menacing WF suddenly held him in a wrestling hold, his arms wrapped around Jace in a tight hug. Jace cried out, sensing his bones crackling. The WFs no longer stunned now approached their enemy, a Mario-WF had another Smart Bomb at his grasp.

The helpless Jace watched, panic and despair shot through every fiber in him. He continued to struggle off DK-WF grasp, but the menace was too strong for him.

Then he heard a humming sound. The WFs paused, hearing that sound also. They turned around and saw Mario with a Blaster, full-charged. Mario fired and struck the Smart Bomb. A fist of flames nailed the WF before it engulfed the group in a billow of rabid fire. All including Jace went hurling off the stage like fireworks in a fourth of July celebration. Jace would've been a goner if he didn't slam his back on a crate near the platform's ledge. Mario approached him to his aid.

Out of breath the duo watched the WFs vanishing into the night sky. The crowd wildly cried in victory.

[IT'S A WHOLE NEW RECORD!]

"My gosh..." Jace breathed heavily, "Never felt extreme fast-paced action like this before..."

His stammering expression ebbed out into a wide smile. "This is soooo… COOL!" he exclaimed before facing Mario, "Hey, let's do it again! Give me some more Wire Frames so that I can pummel them down to a pulp!"

"MuAh! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah!" A raspy voluminous voice suddenly filled the battlefield's skies. All looked up, around and before them, but saw no sign of the person who was speaking, "NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS TIME… JACEN RIDERS!"

Jace's olive eyes widened, staring above the clouds. Mario followed his gaze, and so did the crowd. "Wh-who said that?" he stammered.

The clouds swirled above the skies and slowly opened up to reveal a large hand. And when the crowd saw that hand they were very afraid.

"Master Hand!" Mario said his name in vain.

[OH NO!]

[IT'S MASTER HAND!]

"In the flesh…" Jace whispered in awe.

[WHAT OTHER SICK TRICK IS THIS MASTER OF ORDER ABOUT TO UNVEIL THIS TIME?!]

"OOOOOH! NO TRICKS…" The Master spoke its disembodied voice, "JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT DESPITE WHAT HAPPENED HERE, THE SMASH BROS. GAMES WILL STILL GO ON! AND WHOEVER WINS THIS NEXT GENERATION OF SMASH BROS. GAMES SHALL BE GREATLY REWARDED. AND AS FOR YOU, JACEN RIDERS" The hand drew an accusing finger at the young man, "DO NOT TRY TO DISAPPOINT ME AGAIN!"

Jace frowned. Disappointed? Jace gave out the best performance possible, how could he think of that fight of his life as disappointing? Before he could open his mouth to speak, Mario interrupted, "What has happened to the Battlefield, Master Hand? And the Nintendo World?"

The hand was silent. Mario went on, "Obviously, something happened to our world, and you may have something to do with this."

"REALLY?" The Hand said, "AND THE BOY BEFORE YOU DIDN'T? OBVIOUSLY THE DIMENSIONS HAVE MESSED UP YOUR MEMORIES."

"BUT LET ME REASSURE YOU A BIT. THE WORLDS ARE STILL EXISTENT AND EVERYTHING IN ITS CHASMS… ONLY FRAGMENTS OF THEM REMAINS LIKE PUZZLES… BUT SEEK NO TRUTH FROM ME, BUT FROM BEYOND!" Master Hand said, "FOR I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE NINTENDO WORLD…"

Jace's pretty boy face twisted in confusion, "Oh, so now you don't remember what happened to the Nintendo World." he then poked his chest, "But it doesn't stop you from accusing me of causing it?"

The hand shifted toward Jace, "… JACEN RIDERS… ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE NINTENDO WORLD AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE... YOU JUST GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT… BY WINNING THIS NEXT MATCH… BUT LOSE… … …"

Light-headedness suddenly overwhelmed Jace. Master Hand's image was distorting as if he was vanishing without uttering another word. All the noise around Jace was inverting echoes and roars of uneasy tension from the audience.

Jace tried looking around, searching for a clear image he could focus on but the blurriness filled his vision and he was delirious and unable to see. His heart raced in fear, his palms sweated, he breathed deliberately.

"Lose…?" he shouted tremulously, "What'll happen if I lose, man?! WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!"

"MuAh! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah! Ha! Ah!"

Jace sealed his eyes shut and with a mighty holler he shouted, "MASTER HAAAAAAND!"

**xXx**

Jace flew his eyes open and found himself back in his hotel bed, legs tangled up in the comforter. He jerked up, heavily breathing. He noticed the bright sunlight piercing through the satin sheets that was hiding the sliding doors of his suite balcony.

He blinked, "A dream…" he let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Ohh. It was a dream…" it was so vivid that for a moment there he thought the fate of the world had fallen under his shoulders. Good thing it was only a dream.

His gaze turned to the clock. The _Super Smash Bros_. _3D_ alarm clock he got from Club Nintendo as an early pre-order gift, was glaring back at him with its big red 8:59 digits!

9:00! The _Super Smash Bros. Menu 2 Music_ blasted through the suite.

"DAMN! I'M LATE!" Jace quickly struggled through the comforter of his suite bed along with its many sheets, but they kept on twisting and twirling even more, trapping him further. Furious, he took a leap of faith and leapt off his bed, but his tangled legs pulled him into a faceplant to the ground. _PAF!_

"owww…"

**xXx**

Fifteen minutes past and Jace flew down the long winding stairways of the Plaza, dangerously darting right past incoming guests and catching lots of attention as he descended down the grand lobby. He sported his brand-new Elixir blue-yellow flannel plaid shirt, rippled jeans, his favorite pair of white and black DC flawless sneakers, and his lightweight sandy-brown duffel bag over his shoulder.

He briefly looked around. It was a typical Monday morning in the hotel and it was getting really busy. Concierges were tending to the guests, bellboys were in charge of transporting the suitcases, and the manager seemed to be preoccupied as he was too busy signing an order receipt from a UPS delivery worker who had with him a heavy box large enough to fit either a kangaroo or a baby elephant. The usual hotel business.

"Perfect." Jace thought, seizing his chance and ran right past the Manager's Desk and crashed through the revolving doors of the Plaza.

"Mr. Riders!"

Jace immediately twirled the revolving doors around and quickly went back to the Manager's Desk. That manager wasn't even looking at Jace when he called him!

"BEELL!" Jace called out to him cheerfully, "Hey, what's up, buddy? Didn't see you there!"

The manager glowered, "It's _Mr_. Bell_dam_ to you, Mr. Riders."

Jace gave a puzzled look, "Really? I thought it was Bell." A smirk then spread across his lips again, "But y'know I like Bell better. Heh?" he offered his fist bump at the manager. The manager glared coldly. He then moved his fist bump toward the UPS guy who desperately shook his head in denial.

"Something came for you." Mr. Belldam sternly said before nodding at the large box before Jace. The UPS guy gave it a good pat twice. Jace stared, bewildered. He never placed an order. Even if he didn't, it wouldn't usually be by 1-business day shipping.

"Did you order a big screen TV?" Mr. Belldam severely asked, "Because here at the Plaza, there is a STRICT prohibition of remodeling every suite in this hotel! That means no additional appliances, no—!"

"Bell! Bell! BELL!" Jace interrupted Mr. Belldam, "I did not order this… big screen TV. And why would I order a big screen TV when the hotel already has one? And how do YOU know it's a big screen TV when you haven't opened the package yet?"

There was a hesitating silence. Mr. Belldam silently stared at Jace with his big-rounded chameleon eyes, "Touché." He muttered, squinting.

Jace went for the box, ripped it open and out of the box shot out another box: A 3D-animated box!

It was the Exclamation Mark Block from the Mario series: '!'-Block. It was hovering midair, right in the middle of the hotel lobby, catching all nearby attention.

The manager stared at it, eye-popped out wide, then stared at the UPS guy then stared back at Jace. The UPS guy followed the same gaze. Hotel residents couldn't get their eyes off the '!'-Block also. Jace couldn't get his eyes off it either.

Once again all the memories of the Smash Bros. encounters came flooding back into Jace's mind as he stared at that block. Just when he thought this whole deal was a dream, there he was standing in front of the '!'-Block from the Mario games. His mind once again raced, unable to find a logical explanation for this.

"What the hell is this?" the manager barked.

Jace slowly looked away from the block to stare at the manager. He was at a loss of words as he now realized that his logical explanation might have to be directed to the manager of a hotel and—he briefly looked around—the public eye.

"Gotta go!" he quickly said and dashed for the stairways in a mad sprint. But then he turned back around, grabbed the '!'-Block and darted off again.

He got back in his hotel suite, slammed the door shut, and glued his back onto it. Breathing heavily, he stared at the '!'-Block.

"Okay…" he crossed the small hallway to his bedroom and let go of the '!'-Block, the block floated gracefully back to midair. He stepped forward.

"There's an Exclamation Mark Block." He blinked, "From the Mario series." He blinked again, "In my room."

He slowly approached the block and with his finger, slowly poked it. It bounced sideways in response and he quickly backed away, startled.

"…okay, this is _really_ getting weird."

The door swung open, "You got that right," barked Jenn, startling Jace.

"AAAHHH!" Jace jumped. Jenn stared at the '!'-Block, her jaws hung open, finger pointing at it, red heels shuffling on the carpeted floor as she slowly approached. She dragged her finger down to Jace.

"JACEN RIDERS!" She barked, "You got some EXPLAINING to do!"

"Okay… okay… okay…" Jace stepped back and raised his hands toward Jenn, stopping her from taking another threatening step. But she quickly approached, "—Whoa, Whoa! Okay! Stop! Okay…?"

Jenn finally stopped.

"…b-before you punch me, or kill me, or rip me into shreds, whatever you wanna do, just…" He pulled out the 3DS from his pocket and quickly handed it to Jenn, "Here! Take it! It's yours! I'm sorry I took it. Now just… take it!"

Jenn slowly took the 3DS then stared at it. She then stared back at Jace who was waving his hands dismissively at her like he was attempting to shoo off a bothersome fly.

She shrugged, "Why bother?" she dropped the 3DS on the bed, "It's too late now."

Jace raised an eyebrow; "Too late?" he said before cocking his head sideways, "What do you mean it's too late?"

Jenn pointed again at the '!'-Block, "See that block?"

"Jenn, the _whole_ world can see that block."

"Did anything else _weird_ happen to you besides that block?"

Jace hesitated, once again recalling all of the weird events that happened to him since he was on the plane to New York, including the dream, "Uhh…"

Jenn crossed her arms, already sensing his hesitation, "Yeah."

Jace frowned, shaking his head, "Okay, what's going on?"

Jenn sighed. She turned her backpack to her front and zipped it open, "Think there's more to the story."

A head suddenly pulled out of the bag. It was a red toy poodle puppy. The puppy jumped off to approach Jace, yapping.

"Whoa!" Jace jumped back and stood on a sofa. He pointed at the poodle in front of him, tremulously with sudden recognition. The dog was a 3D animated dog!

"That's a Ninten—!" his voice quivered, "…a Ninten… a Ninten… a Ninten…!"

"…dog!" Jenn clarified, "Yeah. It's a Nintendog!" she picked up the barking puppy. "Seriously, Jace. You're scared of that? C'mon it's so CUTE!"

Jace stared back at Jenn, then back at the animated dog she was cuddling. "B…but how…?"

"The Nintendo 3DS." Jenn pointed at the device. Jace blinked, still hazy with confusion. Jenn further explained, "It's not an ordinary 3DS. It's a _magical_ 3DS. Manufactured from the Nintendo world."

Jace stared, utter shocked, "… _that's…_" he pointed at the 3DS as he stepped off the sofa, "a magical 3DS?"

Jenn nodded and the Nintendog barked as if in response before it leapt off from Jenn's grasp to approach Jace. It began sniffing and moving around him.

"How did you…" Jace went on, "…h-how on _earth_ did you get a _magical_ 3DS?" He quickly tugged his leg forward, attempting to get the attaching dog off him.

Jenn shrugged, "Yeah, I don't know. Only my dad knows. Only problem is, he's not giving me any explanation either. All he told me was to get that 3DS from you before it's too late, and APPARENTLY…" she swept her arms across the room, pointing out at the Nintendog and the '!'-Block, "…It is!"

_Yap!_ The dog barked again.

"Well, I'm—I'm sorry!" Jace exclaimed, "I just thought I'd get a Smash demo and all and…!"

"Couldn't you have just stolen the demo?" Jenn snapped, "And don't you have a 3DS of your own?"

"Aren't you forgetting it's region-locked?"

Jenn paused. "…yeah.…Itotallyforgotaboutthat…" She guiltily admitted.

"And," Jace went on, "weren't you the one who was working on the design for this 3DS personally? You should have known about its powers!"

"Yeah. I was working on the design. But I specifically never WORKED with the hardware itself." Jenn said, "And besides, I never cared for it until Dad entrusted it to me and told me to treat it with the utmost care when working on its design. Which I did!"

"…which explains your obsession to it." Jace mumbled.

Jenn's gentle face wrinkled threateningly, "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Apparently," Jenn went on, "by putting the game into that 3DS, you have accidentally unleashed the Nintendo world into Modern Day New York City. So if I'm not mistaken, Nintendo characters—heroes and villains alike—could be roaming Manhattan or the _entire_ planet as we speak."

It was then that Master Hand's message to Jace quickly came flooding back to his mind.

"… _JACEN RIDERS… ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE NINTENDO WORLD AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE_…"

He knew what happened to the Nintendo World and knew exactly who was responsible for it: it was him. He stole the 3DS, and unaware of its mythical powers has unleashed the Smash Bros. universe into New York City... Or worse the entire world. Now anyone of the Nintendo characters could be anywhere across continents, across oceans. Like Jenn said.

But then Master Hand told him that he will have his answer upon his next battle. _YOU JUST GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT… BY WINNING THIS NEXT MATCH…_

Which match was he talking about, he didn't know... but maybe... maybe there was more to the story. Maybe it was Fate that pushed him to steal the device because something was happening to the Nintendo World that no one knew and only he was destined to make things right...

But could there really be such reason? He shook his head, dismissing that crazy thought. No. He unleashed the Nintendo World to the world. Period. No other force did that.

"We need to get everything in working order before people starts asking questions." Jenn proposed.

"Good idea." Jace said, "But first," he grabbed on the 3DS again, this time a beaming smile appeared on his face and sheer excitement tingled in his bones, "I've GOT to show Hunt this."

He took off in a mad dash, leaving Jenn and the Nintendog behind. "HEY wait! Don't you—!" she called out, but too late. He slammed the door before her, "Don't you wanna know what's inside that block?"

She stared up at the '!'-Block. After a brief pause, she shrugged, "Worth a shot."

She ran toward it and jumped with her head at it.

BOONK!

The blow sent her right to the ground. She held on her throbbing head painfully, "…owww…"

Nothing came out of the block.

"Seriously?"

**xXx**

"So this is the one. The thief who stole the Nintendo 3DS?"

Ganondorf, Mewtwo, and Dedede were inside a huge fabulous high-class room with windows for walls, giving breathtaking views over New York City, which the unknown person who spoke to them was looking over. He sported a loosely worn white dress shirt, black jeans and a silver chain hooked to the belt. The unknown person was a real person, not 3D animated like the three Nintendo Villains behind him.

"If y'all talking about the 3rd Dimensional Screen da young man possess, then yes. He is da one." Dedede responded.

"Bowser is hunting him down as we speak." Ganondorf said.

Mewtwo raised his left hand and a Shadow Ball began to form. Ganondorf, Dedede, and the unknown person noticed the Shadow Ball growing; an image was forming within the ball. The villains approached the ball and deciphered the image. The unknown person didn't bother walking to examine the ball.

"Target's been found." Mewtwo muttered in a low breathing sound.

**xXx**

Jace found Hunt at Central Park. Hunt was sitting, all alone, by a bench with a wooden table. His books and papers were neatly scattered all across the table. He looked deeply concentrated in his studies. First day of school was meant to be a party for the average college student, but for Hunt it was time to get serious, to get some homework done, and if done, get more homework… and if there's free time, it is for midterm and exam preps.

Jace rolled his eyes just thinking about Hunt's excessive school schedule. If he doesn't stop and have some fun right now, he might end up calling a mental institution for school fanatics and they will be there hauling him away on a stretcher.

But that wasn't his concern. His concern was to show him all the adventures he had with the whole Smash-Bros.-coming-to-life-trick the Nintendo 3DS has recently pulled on him. He thought it was a dream, but it was a true pitch-me feeling reality. And he got confirmation by Jenn, the Nintendog and that '!'-Block in his hotel suite.

Now Jace missed out on the first day of college in NYU and didn't get to catch up with his best friend because of that. Now how to explain this 3DS to him, he wondered, staring at the device clutched in his hands?

Simple, he smirked. Get there, break the news, and get out.

He approached Hunt. He hasn't reached the bench when Hunt spoke. "Well, well, well. Look who finally shows up."

Jace froze. Hunt turned away from his homework and gazed meticulously at his friends through his glasses. Jace grinned and waved.

"Thanks for bailing on me by the way." Hunt said.

Jace dropped his duffel bag on the bench and sat on the bench table, "Dude. I'm sorry." He said, "Okay. I should've got you out of that talkative lady Patty Cake the moment she found you cute, and commented about it."

"Patricia?" Hunt blinked, realizing his friend was referring to the girl next door who came to visit last night. He shook his head, throwing a dismissal hand, and smiling, "Nah, I'm not talking about her. She and I had a GRRRRREAT time last night!" he then gazed up into space, mesmerized and picturing Patricia, "She's so down-to-earth, she's smart, she's funny…"

There was a brief pause. Jace yawned, already bored by Hunt's fantasy love life. Hunt then turned to Jace again, who quickly straightened, "So thanks for bailing on me on THAT!"

"Oh." He said faintly.

"What I'm talking about, is school." Hunt changed subjects, his nerdy face turned serious. "You missed first day of class, man! COMPUTER SCIENCES!"

"Oh, that huh?" Jace said relaxingly.

"Yeah!" Hunt exclaimed, imitating his best friend, "THAT! If you don't attend tomorrow's lecture, your spot might get taken by the wait-listers. Y'know? Those who didn't register on time and are now sitting on the sidelines waiting for the sucker to give up their seat involuntarily?"

"Oh, well. Guess I'm the sucker, buddy!" He laughed, pulled his feet up and lay down on the bench table. "There's always next term."

Hunt was flabbergasted by Jace's carefree attitude. It's one thing to miss class, but to seat, or lie down at a table for that matter, where he had his books and papers he need to work on neatly scattered around the space, was just plain rude. But Hunt, being the kind of shy guy, couldn't bear to tell his pushy bad-boyish best friend not to do that. He'd rather stay a pushover. He actually liked that, than to request or ask of something without sounding too much like an order.

He returned to the subject, "…okay, so what could _possibly_ be so important that you had to miss the first day of class today?"

"A sudden twist in my life." Jace said.

"Huh?" Hunt cocked his head.

Jace twisted to his side and faced Hunt, "Dude… you are NOT gonna believe what just happened to me last night." Jace said. "It was so surreal."

Hunt dropped his pencil, crossed his arms and leaned back, "This better be good."

"Okay," Jace began, "so I was playing the demo of _Smash Bros. 3D_, when…" he slowed down his words when he noticed something up the sky: a Clown-Copter! It belonged to Bowser!

He sat up, his eyes went wide open at the presence of the flying Clown-Copter. "Uhhh…" he prolonged, trying to keep the conversation in place but suddenly getting distracted by the Koopa King's appearance. He then recalled Jenn's words. By putting the game into the 3DS, the Nintendo world has been unleashed into Modern Day New York City and so now any Nintendo characters—heroes and villains alike—could be roaming Manhattan or the _entire_ planet at this moment! And Bowser was at Central Park!

"When what Jace?" Hunt desperately asked his friend.

Jace returned to the conversation, "when uhh… the battery died." He quickly said, "Yeah that's it!"

Bowser's face looked dark with anger, his fire-red eyes baleful toward all eyes around the park who have turned away from their tasks to his attention. Before long panic struck them, and they started screaming and running out of the way as the Koopa violently began to swing and toss down an infinite amount of Bob-Ombs from his Clown-Copter. Victims went flying across the park and the explosion rocked the place so much it was like fireworks combined with an earthquake, and Jace and Hunt who were still a bit farther from the commission could sense it.

"What was that?" Hunt started to turn to the scene. "Uhh—NOTHING!" Jace quickly slapped his hands down on Hunt's shoulders and twirled him till he was facing him again. "Just…" he gulped, smiling nervously, "…kids… playing with fireworks and their parents… enjoying it. Nothing big."

Hunt rolled his eyes, "Oh geez. I'm so sick and tired of these people playing with fireworks. Seriously, 4 th of July was like what… two months ago?"

BOOM!

The earth rocked again and more screams spread across the park like wildfire.

"Where are you?!" Bowser was heard, screaming from a distance, "I know you're here, boy! Do NOT run away from me, because I WILL FIND YOU! I WILL RUIN YOU!"

Hunt shook his head, curious at the voice of Bowser, "That doesn't sound like kids and parents playin' together." Once again he turned to look behind but Jace flipped him around again, "NO! No they are!"

Hunt's geeky face tightened, glaring as if Jace was on the witness's stand. "uhh…" Jace nervously licked his lower lips and scratched his head. One thing Jace was _really_ bad at was being a liar. He was terrible at it. And Hunt could sense by his body language that he was hiding something.

"S—so…" Jace quickly said, "You…" he chuckled briefly, trying to keep his cool, "…you wanted to say something?"

Hunt was about to speak when Jace interrupted, "Y'know what, keep it to yourself. Your buddy ain't my business… I mean, business! Just tell me about your love life! OOOH! Or better…" he quickly gathered Hunt's papers, pens, and books; making a mess of everything to Hunt's horror, "Your preps for those disturbing exams and callous projects."

"HEY! Be careful with those!" Hunt quickly scooped up the rest of his things before Jace's grubby unorganized hands could get hold of them.

"Sorry but you…" Jace paused, noticing Bowser was gone. But the people in the park were still freaking out in panic to the ordeal. Part of him was relieved, but the other part was suddenly cautious and nervous. Bowser could appear again any second. Plus the park was huge!

"…have…" he prolonged again, looking around and spotted Hunt's backpack on the bench. He grabbed it and slammed it down on the table before shoving all of Hunt's belongings there, "…got to go!"

He jumped off the bench and tugged the backpack toward Hunt. Hunt just stared back at him as he took the backpack from his hands.

"You're _really_ jumpy today. Is everything all right?"

"Dude, I'm fine." Jace managed to smile again, a little relief breezed through him, "Just… not myself. Y'know, with the whole exams and midterms nightmares."

"Right." Hunt smiled back as he began to put the rest of his stuff inside his backpack, "you know what? You're right. We _need_ to talk about those midterms and exams preps. I mean they are really scary… but not as scary as surprises."

His geeky face frowned in disgust, "I hate surprises. The worst kind of surprises… creatures from another planet, like aliens, coming from out of the blue to terrorized the poor people of New York."

"Yeah, yeah, cute story." Jace quickly changed the subject, wrapping his arm around Hunt's shoulder, "…you need to go see your professor about those midterms and exams stuff fast, before it's too late!"

"It's not too late."

"His office closes at eleven."

Hunt's geeky eyes went wide. He looked at his watch. It read 10:49 AM. "DAMNIT! His office closes at 11!" he swung his backpack over his shoulders and took off running, "I GOTTA GET TO HIM FAST!"

And once again Hunt was off to his destination, without bother to look back at Jace, or to notice the commotion behind him. Jace let out a sigh. He turned on his heels and there he saw him again: Bowser! Inches close to his face!

The Koopa exploded with laughter, almost like he just screamed Boo.

Jace startled and fell back on the ground; his olive eyes met Bowser's red hard ones. Bowser's devious smile expanded to reveal his many monstrous shark-like teeth.

"Looks like we meet again… White Knight." The Koopa articulated. The Koopa's mouth was so close to him he could have sworn he had smelled decays of human flesh and dry blood.

"Whoa… what is that…" he coughed and squinted, the smell literally blinding his sights.

"You're just the guy I have been looking for…" Bowser grinned, "And I can't WAIT for me to—!"

"Oh look, Koopa Seakrest!" Jace pointed up the sky. Bowser looked behind him. Jace seized that chance. He grabbed a scoopful of sands and swung right into Bowser's eyes as the Koopa turned his gaze back to Jace. Bowser screamed, eyes shut and hands over face, in agony.

"GRAWWWWWLL!" His ferocious roar filled the park. Jace leapt to his feet, grabbed his duffel bag and darted out of his way.

"Why you little—! GaaaAAAAH!"

**xXx**

Jenn was nearby at a dense forested part of Central Park, hiding behind a tree, with a binocular. She looked around, briefly got distracted by the commotion Bowser just caused, but was unable to find Jace anywhere.

She lowered her binoculars, "Where the hell is Jace? He's supposed to be—!"

Suddenly a hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her deep into the thick bushes. She squealed before facing her stalker.

"Jace!" she sighed exasperatedly.

"Good to see you too." Jace replied, almost out of breath.

Jenn rolled her eyes at that sarcastic comment.

"Look we need to get outta here." Jace said, "Bowser is now at my tail… I thought he was looking for Mario, but I guess he now has me on his radar! And he called me a White Knight! Now what's up with that? I don't own a sword or a shining armor or anything!"

"Yeah, only cute boys do." Jenn replied, "Now let's go." She jumped to her feet and took off. Jace looked on, offended by that insult, "HEY!"

"Come on, let's go!" Jenn repeated again and they were off.

Bowser brushed away all the dirt from his face when he felt his flaming red hair vibrating. He dug through the strands and split ends until he pulled out his walkie-talkie. From its speaker was King Dedede's voice.

"Look 'ere pal!" he sounded annoyed, "If you don't pull yer weight together now I'm gonna have to take ova your mission now! Y' ear me? We need to get that 3rd Dimensional Screen!"

"Don't tell me twice overgrown penguin." Bowser grumbled on the walkie-talkie, "And you're not the leader here. The one who's dealing with the threat as we speak. _I_ am."

Just when Dedede was about to reply, his fingers curled into a fist on the walkie-talkie, crushing the device into pieces. Static was heard instead of the Dream Land King's complaints.

"…and I'm gonna get him. One way or the other."

**xXx**

"Okay. Be honest with me here." Jace said to Jenn, the duo were walking down the Plaza lobby, "Tell me everything. What happened? How did you know about that," he waved the Nintendo 3DS to her, "portable's true power, and how did you even managed to get here?"

"I told you." Jenn said, "Dad sent me here to find you."

Jace was still silent.

"You want a detailed explanation," Jenn said, "right?"

"Isn't that the whole point of why you dragged yourself here to find me?" He said.

Jenn sighed, "Okay…" she went on with the story… … …

**_~Flashback~_**

_It happened when the corporation announced a security breach at the 3DS Lounge… we were all in the meeting room, talking to the execs when…_

A door burst open, catching all attention. It was a young employee. He was breathing heavily, "Sir, there's been a security breach at the 3D Demo Lounge!" he shouted in grave panic. "One of the 3DS units is missing!"

The execs stood up, alerted, "What?!"

_We all ran down to the 3DS Lounge, and this is when I saw it…_

The executives and security staffs were all paying attention to the missing 3DS console that was on one of the demo booths, but me, I was staring blankly at the 3DS console on the special pedestal by the far wall. I slowly approached it.

…_I felt it, I sensed it…_

I hopelessly slammed my head onto the pedestal glass and slowly shook my head, "I don't believe this…" I whispered.

_I knew you did something… something despicable…_

"JAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCE !"

**_~End Flashback~_**

Jace smiled, "Oh, yeaaaah… the good ol' switch." He laughed.

Jenn glared at him. Jace's smile quickly vanished, "Sorry."

She grimaced.

"But…" Jace went on, turning serious again, "…how did you get to meet the Nintendog?"

Jenn gazed up once again, "Well…" she began… … …

**_~Flashback~_**

_Dad and I were at the Corporation R&D Lab…_

"Before you leave for New York, Jenn, there's something you'll need to have on your travel. Or rather, _someone_." Dr. Dimentio said to Jenn before opening up the lab mouse cage, picked up the little creature, and handed him over to him.

"You might wanna put him on the table and step back." He warned.

"Put him down on the table?" Jenn blinked, "But Dad, he's gonna scurry off to—!"

Suddenly the mouse grew twice its size and its shape shifted to form a red toy poodle puppy with a Nintendo collar around its neck. She jumped, "WHAAAA!"

"EEEPP!" the dog squealed in response to Jenn's surprise, leapt off her arms and ran down to the table to hide at a corner wall, shivering and yelping. Jenn stood there, shocked and speechless by what just happened.

"I told you to settle her down the table." Dimentio scowled.

"But Dad…!" she exclaimed, trying to catch on her breath and calm her racing heart, "What the hell was that?!"

"That is Cheesecake. She's a red toy poodle Nintendog." Dr. Dimentio approached the Nintendog, picked her up into his arms and approached Jenn. The dog became tense again at Jenn's presence. "I want you to take care of her while you travel to New York."

"Cheesecake?" Jenn blinked, "You named a lab rat-morphing Nintendog Cheesecake?!" she blinked again at that last word she just said before Cheesecake, "A Nintendog?!"

"I know. I'll tell you more later." Dimentio got defensive, "She's very special to me. And she's no ordinary dog."

"I know! She's a… a Nintendog?!"

_Grrr…_ the dog's nervousness and fear turned to anger as she began growling.

"Do you want her or not?" Dimentio frowned, "Because clearly she doesn't wanna be with you."

Jenn quickly shook her head, "No, no! I do want her! It's just that… I'm shocked! That… she's a Nintendog!"

Upon examining the dog closer her startled expression quickly shifted to a bright smile, "…but she's so CUTE! So _ADORABLE_!"

She snagged the dog from her father's arms and squeezed her tightly into her arms, "Oh you lil' cheesecake you! I could just EAT YOU UUPP!"

_GRRRR… GRAAAH WAAF!_ The Nintendog struggled. Jenn quickly released her and she ran back to the corner, "Oops! I'm sorry!"

"OH don't worry about her. She don't bite. All Nintendogs don't bite unlike regular dogs." Dimentio said.

Jenn stared into her dad's eyes, surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah…" Dimentio nodded, "And she can sense lots of thing from across many directions… AND dimensions."

"Across dimensions?" Jenn blinked, "Seriously Dad, where did you find her? In the…" she then stopped, more shock painted her face, "…did you ACTUALLY found her in the _Smash Bros._ game?! The Nintendo World?"

Dimentio laughed out loud, "Nintendo World? Honey, don't be stupid." He quickly became dismissive, "No time for questions! Just go! Board that jet plane I prepared for you and go to New York, and find Jace and that 3DS."

**_~End Flashback~_**

"Wait…" Jace frowned, "So, you knew about it before you got the Nintendog?"

"…like I _said_, Dad didn't offer me anymore explanation." Jenn replied, "I just got the Nintendog. She was a giveaway. I put all the pieces together, and I figured it out once I saw you with the '!'-block!"

"Wow, you're smart." Jace sounded impressed.

"YAP!" Cheesecake barked on cue.

"So let's say, your theory is right." Jace sat down by the waiting area, so did Jenn. "How do you deal with Bowser? In the flesh? Coming after me?"

Jenn paused, looking away, "… oh, right… Bowser…"

"Y'know, I could have told Hunt everything that happened to me last night," he said, "and then showed him Bowser wreaking havoc Central Park, but then at the same time, I could have put him into grave danger! And you KNOW how uptight Hunt is when it comes to facing danger. He had to rush out of that park just because I told him his professor's office closes at 11."

"I thought his office closed at 1."

"I forged his syllabus." Jace grinned.

Jenn shook her head, returning the grin, "Same ol' Jace…" she turned serious again, "but, we need to find a way to deal with Bowser, before he causes more havoc in the city. So what we need is some firepower."

**xXx**

Jace and Jenn were back in Jace's hotel suite, staring at the '!'-Block floating besides them.

"The Block?" Jace narrowed his eyes, "really?"

Jenn nodded.

"I could've figured it out m'self!"

"Yeah, well, you didn't." Jenn shrugged, "But don't bother hitting it with your head like Mario does. It's throbbing. It can give you a concussion. I don't know how Mario does it."

"Maybe it's throbbing for you, but not for me." Jace clasped his hands, stepped back a few feet away from the block, and started to grin, "Now, watch the hunky heartthrob ex-football player at work."

"Jace, you weren't a football player."

Jace glared, "Jenn, I'm talking about _real_ football. Not _American_ football." His grin broadened, "…you're ready?"

Jenn flipped her Android smartphone from her pocket and pointed at Jace and the Block, "Go." She said.

Jace sprinted toward the Block and threw himself at it. His face and upper shoulder rammed hard on the block and Jace went on the ground, hissing through his teeth, his head exploded in pain. The Block remained intact.

Jenn's feisty face twisted into a frown, remembering that same ordeal she endured when she tried hitting that block. "Ooh… that gotta hurt." She commented before approaching the Block once more.

She gently pushed the block further up from underneath and in an instant the block suddenly exploded into millions of confettis, startling her and shattering the ceiling above them, leaving behind trails of debris and a small billow of smokes.

"YAAAAA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOAAAH!" a cartoonish voice overwhelmed the suite and quickly faded out. Jenn and Jace looked up. Jenn's blue cat eyes stretched out open, and Jace's sharp olive ones squinted in pain as it barely focused on.

"Well, looks a lot easier than we thought." Jenn commented.

The cartoonish voice was heard again, growing louder and louder, then another crash split again another part of the ceiling and the two teens watched couple of bodies bounced into Jace's bed before hitting the ground hard.

Jenn slowly stepped forward the strangers that just landed in Jace's suite. Jace sat up, dizziness overwhelming him from that weight slam his poor skull just got. He too stared bewilderedly at the strangers. And they were obvious: 3D-animated Nintendo characters Luigi, Toad, Toadsworth and Peach!

They looked dizzy, stars and mushroom circling above their heads comically. "S-somebody ordered mushroom swirly?!" Luigi slurred.

Jace and Jenn exchanged glances. Jenn puckered, "Oh-ho! …wait till the people on _YouTube_ sees this." She quickly turned back to her video. Jace lowered Jenn's phone down.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

Luigi, Peach Toadsworth and Toad finally regained their consciousness and stared across their new surroundings. Everything looked different: the bedroom, the walls, the people in front of them… their colors, their textures, were very… very… different.

"Wh-!" Luigi looked on in panic, his voice was Italian, like Mario, "Mamamia… where are we?" he stood up, "What is-a this place?"

Toad jumped to his feet and slides open the glass doors that lead to the balcony. He stepped onto the terrace and jumped onto the railings, mesmerized by the sea of skyscrapers before them. Toadsworth followed, but he didn't jump to stand on the railings.

"It's… looks like…" Toad muttered, "…it looks like…"

Peach stepped forward to the terrace as well, "…a big city?"

"Err… Princess; I don't think we're in the Mushroom Kingdom anymore." Toadworth said, with a heavy British monarch-like accent.

"You got that right." Jace said; the three characters jumped, startled. "WHAAA!" Toad almost lost his balance through the railings, when Peach grabbed him just in the nick of time.

"He's gonna h-hurt us!" Toad quivered to Peach's arms.

"Oh please don't-a hurt us…" Luigi shook violently on his legs.

"Wait," Jace said, "we're not here to—!"

Toadsworth jumped in front and swung his cane. A fire laser shot through the cane and Jace and Jenn nimbly shifted back, dodging the attack. They watched the laser drilled a hole in a wall. Jace and Jenn stepped back.

"You two better stay away from the princess or so help me Power Stars I will fry you with my cane!" Toadsworth barked menacingly. He then jumped behind Luigi and shoved him forward, "And Master Luigi will help me!"

"What? H-HEEEEY!" Luigi screamed.

"He knows fireballs!"

"I don't know anything!" Luigi protested.

Jace held his arms up in defense, "Whoa, whoa, wait a second here, guys! We don't mean any harm! We need your help! Or better we're here to help you."

"Yeah, we found you inside that Block!" Jenn pointed at the empty Block in the room which was now of a chocolate-brown with squinted black eyes. "We rescued you from it!"

The Mushroom Kingdom characters stared back at the block in the room.

"Apparently someone stuffed you there!" Jenn added.

Toadsworth frowned, "And how do we know you're one of the good guys and not an ally of Bowser?"

"With this." Jace pulled out the Nintendo 3DS from his pocket. The cartoonish characters' eyes flew open and they began to scream in agony and panic.

"Ohhh my…" Peach blinked.

"EGAAAAAD!" Toadsworth yelped.

"The portal to the Nintendo World!" Luigi yelped.

"He IS an ally of Bowser!" Toad whined. He turned around and went through the railings. Peach screamed and grabbed him again before he could plummet. But Toad struggled, "HELP MEEEEEE!"

Luigi then went to the railings and shouted also, "HEEEEAAAAAAALLLP!"

Jace and Jenn tried approaching them again but Toadsworth started flipping kicks and menacingly swinging his cane around, fending off any approach.

Peach finally managed to calm Toad down and faced everyone "Everyone, please!" she squealed and everyone slowly turned quiet.

"Let them speak." Peach said to her people, her gentle voice sounded almost British, "Only these young folks know what is going on, and we should all listen to their pleas before making any judgment."

The fair princess turned her gentle blue eyes on the two cousins, "How about we go over your story over a nice cup of tea?"

"Sorry Princess, but there's no time for tea." Jace rudely said, stepping back into the room. "Your world is in trouble and it's all my fault."

"AH-HAAA!" Toadsworth's mustached face angrily drew back, tugging an accusing finger at Jace, "I KNEW he was a Bowser's minion!" he growled ominously.

"I'm not a minion, Toadsworth!" Jace protested.

The small company gasped, eerie astonishment fell on them, "He knows your name…!" Toad's voice quivered once again as his tiny mushroom body.

Jace furiously shook his head, "N-no guys… it's…!" he paused with a sigh and regrouped, "Okay, let me start over. I did something terrible. This 3DS was in my uncle's company called Nintendo. Same name as your world. But when I stole it I didn't realized it was a magical one."

"Obviously." Toadsworth rolled his eyes. Peach gave him a sharp stare and he calmed down. Peach turned back to Jace, "Please continue."

Jace went on, "See, I didn't know it was magical until I had a dream… or so I thought… Mario was with me. Here in this room…"

The small company exchanged glances.

"…and he took me to the Nintendo World. Somehow you guys were hosting your next Smash Bros. Games when something horrible happened; and now for some reasons, long story short, everyone in the Nintendo World has ended up here in New York City."

"I think you mean New _Pork_ City." Luigi corrected, "That's-a where Ness's nemesis Porky lives."

"No, he really means New _York_." Jenn corrected back, "See, New York is very different from your world. Heck, _our_ world is different from yours."

"And there's a possibility that anyone can be here in this city or the entire world." Jace added.

"Okay…" Toadsworth shook his head, his owlish mushroom face looking lost, "wait, so let me get this straight. This device you have—the Nintendo 3DS—has the power to take anyone across dimensions? Including our world and your world?"

"Which explain the 3rd Dimension part." Toad added.

"Well…" Jace hesitated, "Not really. The 3DS is a regular video game console. But that's a whole other story. See the point is that everyone in the Nintendo world ended up here in _our_ world."

"New York City?" Toad repeated.

"Exactly…! Well… not… just… the whole world counting the city." Jace shook his head. Now he was getting confused.

"Okay, you know what guys!" Jenn interrupted. She had enough of this, "Just remember: Nintendo world people are now here." She pointed on the ground for emphasis, "In other world."

The group nodded.

"BUT Nintendo World _itself_ is here." She pointed at the 3DS, "…the 3DS."

"Ohhh…" a smile glimmered in Peach's face, "so now I know exactly what was going on here."

Jace and Jenn, even Luigi all looked blankly confused, "Uhh… what exactly are-a you saying?" Luigi asked.

"This Nintendo 3DS." Peach said, "It is what the Nintendo Villains feared the most: the 3 rd Dimensional Screen."

Jace and Jenn now looked confused, "Huh?"

"According to the Legend of Old, an old legend told by my great grandmama." Peach began, "'As the Nintendo World crosses over darkness, it shall cross over another world, and a magnificent savior of old shall return, wielding with him the 3rd Dimensional Screen. Known only to this sole wielder as the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS is the acronym for…"

"3rd Dimensional Screen." Toadsworth was now smiling.

"Ohh, yeah." Toad then joined in, "…and with such device possess magical powers, enough to restore order onto both worlds. Order once disrupted by its twin artifact, the 3rd Dimensional Sphere. And these worlds will be blended in perfect harmony!"

"Right!" Toadsworth returned his gaze back to Jace, "You're the one who found that magnificent portal device, right? So that does it! You ARE that magnificent savior of old spoken by legends! You are the White Knight!"

There was a brief silence. Jace couldn't believe what he had just heard. Everything that he just heard.

"Are you _Kinojii_ for real?!" he gaped, shaking his head violently, "…y-you can't make a decision like that! I mean, what exactly are you saying?"

"Uhh… I think…!" Jenn turned to Jace's attention, "…he's saying that you're the White Knight?"

"I know what he said!" Jace snapped.

"So you know of the legend too?" Peach lit up.

"Actually, Bowser called him that." Jenn replied.

"So it's true!" Toadsworth said, "Bowser IS in the city too. Apparently, what happened to us… He and the Nintendo Villains want to finish what they started!" Toadsworth then turned to face the group, "Gentlemen! Let's find us a Koopa to defeat! The White Knight shall be the lead."

"I'm not the White Knight!" Jace snapped again.

"But FIRST—!" Luigi shouted, finger up in the air, "We need to find Mario." He turned back to Jace, "Now where did you saw him last, and how do we get out of this place?"

"Jaaaaaaceeeeeeen…!" a low growl caught the group's attention up the broken ceiling—or as it was now a hole between two suites. And there stood Mr. Beldam, his chameleon eyes viciously staring at Jace. Some of the hotel guests upstairs were besides him, staring back.

"Ohh-kay… second question answered!" Jace pointed, "This way!" and the group sped off the suite. Mr. Beldam jumped through the hole and landed to the suite. "You're gonna PAY for this, Jacen Riders!" He gave chase, hissing through his teeth.

Meanwhile, Maple and Patricia were in the lobby, at a sitting area across each other. Maple appeared edgy while Pat seemed surprisingly relaxed as she flipped through a travel magazine. She couldn't stop staring at the marvelous pictures of Shibuya Scramble Crossing of Tokyo, Japan. Pat's biggest dream was to go to Japan. And she was mad to hear from her friend Maple that she got to go to that place first before her.

Maple quivered, her foot repeatedly tapped on the carpet. She finally broke the silence, "Pat, can you please speak to me?"

"No." she muttered.

"It wasn't my decision to go to Japan!" Maple complained.

Pat peeked from above the travel magazine, staring at Maple, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Your mom wanted to take a brief detour. I get it." She returned to the magazine.

"I didn't like the trip!" Maple whined, "All I wanted was to come to New York and see my rich Aunt Claris and see the splendor of the city! And—!" she hunched over the small coffee table and snatched the magazine from Pat, "…and you didn't tell me about your encounter with the boy I like!"

"The boy you like is Japanese." Pat gloated, "…or so I think."

"What was his name?"

Pat opened her mouth to speak when Mr. Beldam's scream silenced her and then answered Maple's question at the same time, "JAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCE!"

All heads in the lobby turned to see Jace and Jenn descending down the stairways and darted off the exit. Then Princess Peach, Toadsworth, Toad, and Luigi followed behind.

Maple and Pat blinked. They could've _sworn_ they just saw four 3D animated cartoon characters chasing Jace down the lobby and out the door! And not just any cartoon characters! Nintendo characters! They stood up and, like everyone in the lobby who saw them also, peeked out the window to see if they DID saw what they thought they saw… but the group was gone into the sea of traffic and people.

Finally Mr. Beldam and a couple of security guards were following in a mad dash. Mr. Beldam slowed down then braked into a halt. The security guards were already outside. Fighting to regain his breath, he wheezed, "J…J…Jaaace…"

The girls left their station and went to the exhausted Beldam, "What happened?" they asked.

"…J…Ja…Jaaace…" Beldam tried to speak but found it difficult to do so with such shallow breath.

"James?" Maple raised an eyebrow.

"Jace." Pat corrected, "That guy you have a crush on? His name is Jace. He's Hunt's best friend and according to Hunt he's a rebel."

"Oooh. A rebel." Maple smiled, "Nice."

Pat turned back to Beldam, she carried him on her shoulder, "Now sir. Tell me what happened, and Sugah Patty is gonna take care of you." She grinned at Maple, pointing at herself, "That's me. Sugah Patty."

But Beldam continued to wheeze. But Patricia nodded and kept on saying, 'Uh-huh! Uh-huh!' as if she understood him clearly from all his gasping and wheezing. "Okay," she finally said, "he'll be fine." then clumsily dropped Mr. Beldam on a chair.

Maple blinked, "Uhh… what did he say?"

"He say they're gonna pay for the damage."

"Okay, we need find them before we lose them!" Maple proposed, "I wanna know if I'm going crazy or I just need some special meds, because I could have SWORN I saw Luigi and Peach and the others from the _Mario_ games with him!"

"Way ahead of ya, sister!" Pat said and the two darted through the door.

**xXx**

The gang was at Central Park again. After running from the Plaza they were exhausted and stopped by the pond. But the place that was supposed to be quiet ended up filling with people, as they all stared, with amazement, at the Nintendo characters alongside Jace and Jenn.

"Well, jolly be good." Toadsworth said, "Looks like we're catching loads of attention here."

"What do you expect?" Jenn said, "You guys are NOTHING like us."

"Don't remind me twice, young lady."

"We really need to find Bowser." Toad said, "He could be anywhere."

"He's looking for me, so it's pretty obvious where he _should_ be." Jace said, looking around the park, trying to ignore all the attention he was getting. He spotted a young lady with her baby on a stroller—the closest person he could find exchanging eye contact with him—and approached her. "Excuse me, have you seen a guy… no wait… not a guy. More like a large green turtle, animated kind of guy? Y'know?" he pointed at the Nintendo characters, "Like these guys?"

"uuuuuhhhhh…" the woman was loss of words, still stunned by what she was seeing.

"Ah, screw it. I'll call Hunt." Jace searched through his pocket and pulled out his cellphone. "Thanks anyway." He dialed the number as he walked back to his friends. Dialtone, finally a click.

"Jace?" Hunt responded on the other line.

"Dude, where are you?"

"Central Park."

"You're still at Central Park?" Jace shouted.

"No. It's _now_ that I'm on Central Park." Hunt replied. "Professor Higgins wasn't in his office! He was teaching another class! Thanks for the joke pal."

"Okay, whatever. Listen. I need you to do me a fav—!" Jace stopped, a smile pulled on his lips, then a stifle, "…wait, Professor _Higgins?_"

Jenn and the Nintendo characters stifled at that name.

"Hey! It's a real name you know?! That ain't funny." Hunt exclaimed.

"Sorry." Jace said, still smiling, "…but it sounds like he's having a cold. _Hee-Hee… HHHHHHHeeeeGiins…snorts_!"

The gang laughed out loud.

"Anyway!" Hunt exclaimed, "What is it that you want, because I'm kinda in the middle of…"

Hunt was no longer heard.

Jace didn't like the sudden silent from the other line. He glanced around Central Park, but couldn't see Hunt. "Uh… Hunt?"

"Oh my gosh…" Hunt's voice sounded of fear. The heroes alerted.

"Hunt…?" Jace sounded worried, "Hunt! Buddy, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"OH… MY… GOSSSH!" Hunt's fearful voice now turned terrifying.

"He's got your friend!" Luigi exclaimed.

"This way!" Jenn exclaimed and the gang ran across Central Park. They finally reached Hunt who was at another bench in the park, frozen solid, and staring blankly into space.

"Hunt?!"

Hunt looked up to Jace and Jenn approaching. But he didn't notice the Nintendo characters yet. Jenn stopped, turned to face the Nintendo characters and told them to lay low. They obeyed.

"Hunt!" Jace knelt besides Hunt, sounding almost relieved, seeing that he wasn't attacked by Bowser, "You're okay…! What happened?"

"What happened…?" Hunt exclaimed. "…What happened?! I'll tell you what happened?!"

He pulled out a piece of paper with all kinds of computer codes, "I was supposed to be writing a code for a LIFO queue, but no… I keep writing codes for a STACK!"

Jace and Jenn narrowed their eyes, angry at this false alarm but relieved that it _was_ a false alarm.

"You call this a problem?" Jenn said to Hunt.

"COURSE THIS IS A PROBLEM!" Hunt exclaimed, "Now I have to go to my professor again! Hopefully he's gonna be in his office this time." Hunt quickly stood up and scattered his papers together. He stopped, turned to Jenn with a curious look, "…and Jenn! What are you doing here anyway? Aren't _you_ supposed to be—!"

"I'm just visiting!" Jenn quickly said to Hunt and scattered his books and papers for him and dumped them to his arms.

"Wh—Hey! My—!"

"We'll talk later over coffee." She placed a hand to his shoulder, "Love you! Bye!"

"…okay. What is with you two messing around with my papers all day? Gosh." Hunt complained as he took his leave.

"Phew, that was close." Jace said to Jenn, who then made the signal for Luigi, Peach, Toad and Toadsworth to come out of hiding.

"Yeah, way too close." Jenn said before proposing, "But guys, we need to find Mario. If not Bowser, then Mario. Fast. Before he could—!"

Jenn was cut off when the ground under her split open and she fell right onto the crevasse, screaming, "AAAAAAAHHHH!"

Jace and the others jumped back from the splitting ground. Jace was inches near the large gap before him.

"Jenn!" he shouted.

Suddenly a cage pulled out from under the ground and flew onto the skies. The cage was dragged on by a long rope attached to a flying battleship. Jenn was inside that cage, and standing on top of it was Bowser Jr., cackling maniacally. "Weeeh! Hee-Hee Hee-Hee Hee-Hee!"

"Oh no! Bowser Jr." Luigi muttered.

"Looking for my Dad?" Bowser Jr. grinned.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Jenn yelled at Bowser Jr. before slamming her weight onto the cage, trying to break free, "Get me outta here! How dare you threatening the life of a—! AAAAAHH!" she screamed again as she watched Central Park disappearing beneath her. "Shut up missy!" Bowser Jr. hissed.

"JENN!" Jace shouted out for his cousin. He ran to her and her captors in pursuit. Luigi and the others followed. Almost all of Central Park's attention got caught.

"JAAAACE!" Jenn cried out.

"Hey, you leave her alone!" Jace shook his fists at Bowser Jr.

"Try a load of this!" Bowser Jr. yelped and on cue, five flying blue-spiked Koopas came charging at Jace and the Nintendo characters. "Whhooooaaaaa!" They ducked at the first tackle. But some Koopas made a U-Turn and managed to tackle down Toadsworth and Toad, dragging them across the park like ragged dolls. More went for Peach and Luigi, but Jace jumped in front of them and took the blows instead. All the Koopas descended at him so fast, pouncing and beating him up with their charging shells the series of blasted pains was unbearable. Jace let go off the 3DS and went flying onto the grassy ground.

The Koopas seized that chance to go for the 3DS Jace had dropped, but then Luigi and Peach blocked their paths. Peach pulled out a golf club and Luigi connected half of the troops with his Super Jump Punch one-hit wonder. The heroes soon watched the defeated Koopas fly off into the city skies. They gave pursuit. But Bowser Jr. and the ship was already very high up the skies and at distance. The heroes could hear him cackle.

"If you value your friend's life, bring us all what we want!"

Jace slowed down as he was getting exhausted, "You sleazy son of a…!" he huffed, threw a fist on a nearby tree, "…Damn it!"

**xXx**

Couple of minutes past since Jenn was whisked away by Bowser Jr.

"Guys, we gotta find a way to rescue Jenn." Jace said to Toadsworth, Toad, Luigi and Peach, "We can't leave her hanging! She's my cousin! I can't lose her to that overgrown turtle and his Goliath of a father!"

"Heeeyy, lookee at this." Luigi noticed a piece of paper on the ground. He picked it up and showed it to his group.

"_If you want your fairest of all, bring-a me what I desire the more. Don't dawdle. I'm-a watching you._" Luigi read the paper and suddenly it went bursting into flames. Laughter echoed across the park, sending chills down the group's spines.

"This is the work of the Nintendo Villains." Peach concluded, "They want the 3DS. And Bowser apparently works for them. And he's not kidding when he says he's watching us."

"Can you pinpoint Bowser's location from your 3DS?" Toad asked. Jace flipped the portable up and with a couple of quick taps got a GPS tracking of Bowser.

His face lit up, "I see them!"

"Great! Where are they?" Toadsworth asked.

His face turned gloomy again, "Oh no, the Rockefeller Center Square. That's where Bowser Jr. is going with Jenn. That's where Bowser is!"

"That's-a bad thing?"

"Worse." He closed his 3DS and put it back to his pocket, " _Half_ of the citizens of New York are there right now." he quivered, "We gotta save everyone. Come on!"

The group took off in haste.

**xXx**

A dark cloud was swirling over the Rockefeller Center Building and blanketed the square with a thin sheet of shadowing darkness. The square was apparently on a rampage. People ran around, screaming and yelling, terrorized by the thrashing of Bowser's minions across buildings, markets and many other hotspots. Jace, Toadsworth, Luigi, Toad and Peach finally reached the place. They weren't the only ones. There was a boatload of police cars, fire trucks and ambulance parked by the square.

Couple of the policemen tried to stop the Koopas, but they were too fast for their guns and their baton swinging. The villains tackled them and sent them flying.

"What the hell!" The teen watched in amazement.

"What a horror." Toadsworth muttered, "He's gotta be stopped somehow."

"We could-a try defeating him again." Luigi pointed out, before he dully mumbled, "Like-a Mario has already done it… so many times."

Jace boldly stepped forward when everyone were stepping back, evacuating or fleeing from the enemies.

"Hey!" Jace shouted with a firm tone, catching the thrashing Koopas' attention. "Knuckleheads! Yes. I'm talking to you. Where is your leader? Where is Jenn?"

"HAAA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!" The Koopas stepped back at the thunderous laughter of Bowser, making way for the Koopa King. Bowser stepped forward till he was couple of inches closer to Jace. He's seen Bowser before of course, but up-close he was a terrifying sight of 7 feet and 400 pound. Citizens continued to flee and run from the colossal menace.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the White Knight himself," He grinned before staring back at the Nintendo characters, "and the posse I know and love."

"Bowser…" Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth and Toad said his name in vain.

"Where is my cousin?" Jace said to Bowser.

"She's in perfect care. As you can see." Bowser searched through the back of his shell and pulled out what looked like a small figurine. But Jace knew that figurine. In the _Smash Bros._ game it was called a Trophy.

And what he saw was Jenn. Frozen in place and terrified. Her mouth was gaped, her arms outstretched, as if she was trapped from inside a torture chamber. Jace and the Nintendo characters were horrified to see her in that form.

Jace went for the trophy, but Bowser pulled away. "But before I give her to you…"

Jace suddenly felt Bowser's massive fingers wrapped into a fist around his neck. He tried to pull away but Bowser's hand gripped tightly. The Koopa King pulled him closer. "…you'd have to give me something in return…" he breathed, "…first."

The panicky Nintendo characters knew what that something was: the 3DS! They shouted out, pressuring him not to give in to his demands.

"Don't do it Jace!"

"Don't! He's lying!"

"It's-a gonna be a disaster if you do give it to him!"

"Noooo!"

Bowser closed in on Jace, "Where… is my 3DS?"

"I…" Jace gasped, "…I have it…"

The Nintendo characters gasped. Bowser let go off Jace. Jace landed on the ground, finding it difficult to catch his breath. He slowly went for his pocket and pulled out the red 3DS. He handed it to Bowser.

"NOOOOOO!" the characters screamed.

Bowser snatched the 3DS from Jace's hands and raised it up in glory, "Ha-HAAA!" he laughed out loud. "I finally have it! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Thunder roared in the background. "It's mine! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" The Koopa continued to laugh.

Jace shallowly breathed, "…I gave you what you want. Give me back my cousin."

"Hmm?" Bowser blinked, "Oh right. Your cousin. Here." The Koopa tossed the trophy to Jace. Jace grabbed it, slowly stood on his feet and walked back to the worried Nintendo characters.

"What happened? What have-a you done?" Luigi complained. But Jace ignored him briefly. He placed the trophy down and stepped back. Finally regaining most of his strength he looked at the characters and smiled.

"Something I should have done years ago."

"WHAAAAAT?!"

The Nintendo characters and Jace turned to face Bowser who was screaming his guts out. They watched him tapping repeatedly at the 3DS, hoping for some magic to be unleashed. But nothing happened.

"What's wrong with this 3DS?! It's DEFECTED!"

"Wrong, Bowser!" Jace called out to him. Bowser looked up.

"This 3DS is mine." Jace pulled out from his pocket ANOTHER 3DS: the magical one!

All the Nintendo characters gasped at this sight. "THIS is yours." Jace said, flipped open the 3DS and with a tap on the Touch Screen, Jenn's trophy was covered in a shimmering light and morphed into a real life Jenn. Jenn opened her eyes and looked around to everyone's surprise.

"NOOOO!" Bowser barked.

"Wh-what happened?" Jenn muttered, "What's goin…?" she turned to face the heroes and she lit up, "Jace!"

The two cousins hugged. The Nintendo characters cheered. Bowser saw red. His underling army and Bowser Jr. approached him and noticed the 3DS in his firm grip.

"Err… Lord Bowser?" one Koopa asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Hey you got the 3DS back!" Bowser Jr. said, but then noticed the difference, "…but wait a minute. That doesn't look like the real deal."

"GRAAAAAAWWWWWLLLLL!" Bowser raged. Powerful wind gusts blew across the square. He crushed Jace's 3DS with his bare claws and tossed the remaining bits asides.

"HEY! That's mine!" Jace shouted out.

Bowser's army started running and flying around in panic as the Koopa King started thrashing all over the place. He grabbed a police car and flung it over other cars, shaved nearby pavements with a sharp sweeping stroke of his claws and grabbed his son, Bowser Jr., in a chokehold and sent him soaring through a window of the Rockefeller Center Building. More panic shot out from the public.

Finally Bowser locked on its flaming eyes on Jace and the Mushroom Kingdom cast.

"Oh, no! He's coming right for us!" Toadsworth squealed and all watched Bowser charging at them. They screamed in panic.

"Push something! Push something! PUSH SOMETHING!" Jenn exclaimed.

"I'M TRYING!" Jace repeatedly tapped every app on the 3DS, looking for a way out.

Suddenly, the whole square transformed into Delfino Plaza and before they knew it, they were on a floating platform, whisked away above Delfino Plaza. Before long, a loud cheering crowd came from out of nowhere, then two announcer guys were heard, as well as the epic-like background music of Delfino Plaza.

Jenn, Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth and Toad were among the cheering crowd, while Jace and Bowser were facing each other on the platform.

[GET READY TO SMASH MELEE AND BRAWL! HI EVERYBODY AND WELCOME TO OUR FIRST EVER FREE-FOR-ALL MATCH UP. I'M YOUR HOST, TRE (that's pronounced: _Three_)!]

[AND I'M YOUR HOST, DEEN!]

[AND WELCOME TO _SUPER SMASH BROTHERS_!]

"Ohhhh boy…" Jace said.

[NOW HERE'S THE DEAL OF THIS BATTLE: THIS IS GONNA BE A ONE-ON-ONE, 2-STOCK, 150% STARTING DAMAGE METER BRAWL WITH ONLY ONE ITEM: THE GLORIOUS SMASH BALL!]

Deen opened his palm and the Smash Ball floated right above his hand. It was beautiful and glowing, [THERE IT IS, FOLKS.]

The crowd oohed. Deen and Tre cooed. [THAAAT'S RIGHT. ENJOY THAT.] Deen chuckled.

[THE GOAL OF THIS MATCH IS TO SCORE MORE POINTS, INCLUDING STYLE POINTS, AS YOU GIVE EACH OTHER A GOOD-NATURED PUMMELING THAT ENDS WITH ONE OF YOU, FLYING OFF THE SCREEN. TWICE!]

[BLOWN OFF THE WALL. SKYROCKETED OUT OF HERE COMBOED AND SMASHED UP!]

[TIS A NO-MERCY, NO-PITY MATCH!]

[AND REMEMBER, WHEN ON CERTAIN SITUATIONS, AND ONLY IN TIME-LIMITED BRAWLS, BOTH YOU AND YOUR OPPONENT SCORE THE SAME DAMAGE POINT AT THE TIME LIMIT, WE MOVE THIS MATCH TO WHAT WE LOVE TO CALL…]

[SUDDEN DEATH!] Both announcers screamed on the microphone and the crowd went wild in response.

"Sudden Death? Wait a minute…" Jace interrupted, facing the two announcers, "Are we going to die?"

Bowser cracked his knuckles, "Ohhh yes, you are soooo going to die."

Deen chuckled, [Actually Bowser, nobody dies in Brawl.] he said. Jace was relieved to hear that.

[YOU GET KNOCKED OUT COLD!] Deen finished.

[OR GET INTO A COMA!] Tre added.

[You know I was in a coma once.] Deen told Tre.

[Really? Diagnosis?]

Tre shrugged, [Erm. Got a little too wild with my girlfriend.]

The crowd oohed. Jace and Bowser exchanged glances, frowning.

[Oh, tell me more.]

[Right after this.]

Bowser menacingly pointed its sharp finger at Jace, "You… are so gonna pay for tricking me like this."

"Oh, _I_ am gonna pay?" an angry Jace pointed at himself before pointing at Bowser, "No. I'm SUING you, buddy. Y'know how much that 3DS costs me? With the Ambassador's Program and all?"

"Then we'll see who pays first." Bowser growled.

The announcer guys turned their attentions back to the arena, [So HERE... WE... GO!] They said together.

[THREE…]

[…TWO…]

[…ONE]

[GO!]

Bowser suddenly dashed toward Jace. Jace didn't get the chance to budge as Bowser came too close and tossed him on the side with a slash attack. Jace quickly got up and barely dodged Bowser's bodyslam. Bowser, still on his stomach grabbed Jace by the leg, tripping him. Jace looked down as the platform hovered around Delfino Plaza. His heartbeat went faster than a drum.

He suddenly felt lifted up by Bowser. "Hey! Whoa! What are you doing? Ahh!"

Bowser cackled while twirling the boy in place before taking a leap and tossed him again to the other side. Jace landed on his knees and just as he was about to get up and turn around, Bowser nailed him with his headbutt. Jace flew to the platform's edge. Jace grabbed on the edge. He looked down. The platform was hovering 50 feet above ground. He gulped.

"Well, well. Looks like your luck is running out, huh?" Bowser stood in front of Jace, his right foot on position to stomp Jace's fingers. The crowd gasped.

"COULD THIS BE THE END OF JACE?!" Deen said.

Jace gasped, "Hey look! Is that Mario?"

"Wuh?" Bowser turned around but saw nothing. He suddenly got a kick on the head and he crashed on the ground after flying a few feet. The crowd cheered.

"WOAH! JACE IS BACK IN THE GAME AFTER SUCH SMART TRICK FELL ONTO SUCH STUPID KOOPA!" Tre shouted.

"AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!"

Bowser stood up, holding his sore head and eyeballed Jace menacingly, "Ohh you're gonna pay for this."

Jace clenched fists and posed into fighting position, "Bring it on, ugly."

ROOAWWH!

"NOW THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET UGLY, TRE!" Deen said.

"GET ME POPCORN AND A CAMCORDER, FAST!" Tre exclaimed.

Jace and Bowser ran toward each other and went at each other's throat.

"JACE IS IN! HE'S GETTING THE ADVANTAGE ON BOWSER! BUT BOWSER'S NOT FEELING ANYTHING!" Deen exclaimed as Jace was delivered a couple of punches at Bowser's face then landed a few more on his stomach. Bowser flinched but did not receive enough damages.

"IT'S LIKE DAVEY AND GOLIATH ALL OVER AGAIN, I'M TELLING YOU! OR SMALL VS. BIG. GOOD VS. EVIL!" Deen said.

Bowser suddenly grabbed Jace by the throat. Jace choked.

"OHH NO! IT LOOKS LIKE EVIL HAS THE ADVANTAGE!" Deen gasped.

"Time's up, kid." Bowser muttered to Jace. He jumped into the sky with Jace still on choke-hold.

"WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?" Tre panicked, "WH-HE'S-HE'S-HE'S-"

"HE'S GONNA KILL HIM!" Deen screamed and the crowd panicked as Bowser went for the ground with Jace's head aiming for the ground. Jace suddenly flipped Bowser over and began fighting back.

"JACE'S FIGHTING BACK! HE'S FIGHTING BACK!"

But Bowser quickly had the advantage.

CRASH!

The crowd roared in horror as Bowser let go of the wounded teen after the terrible landing.

"Too late." Tre sighed.

"THIS IS TERRIBLE, TRE! TERRIBLE! BOWSER JUST SCORED SO MANY STYLE POINTS ON THAT MEAN MOVE!"

"DO YOU THINK JACE'S OKAY?"

"HE IS OKAY!"

Jace slowly got up, wounded. "ohh. My head…" Jace groaned in pain.

"Jace! Look up!" Peach, Jenn and Luigi all called at the teen. Jace looked up and saw the Smash Ball, hovering and glowing around the stage. Bowser noticed the floating object and so did everyone else.

"THE SMASH BALL!" Tre and Deen shouted simultaneously and the crowd gasped.

"LEGEND HAS IT THAT WHOEVER GETS THIS BEAUTIFUL SOURCE OF POWER WILL UNLEASH THE ULTIMATE POWER WITHIN!" Tre explained.

"WHO'S GONNA GET IT? ONLY TIME WILL TELL!" Deen said.

GRAB IT! GRAB IT! GRAB IT! GRAB IT! GRAB IT! GRAB IT! The crowd cheered.

"Come on, Jace! Grab it!" Jenn, Luigi, Peach and the Toads all exclaimed.

"Not on my watch!" Bowser ran for the Smash Ball. Jace then went for it, but was too late. Bowser threw a strong slash attack on the Smash Ball and suddenly a red aura glowed around him and the skies went dark.

"JACE IS TOO LATE! BOWSER HAS THE SMASH BALL!"

"HE'S GONNA TRANSFORM!"

Bowser roared as his body morphed into a colossal creature. The crowd screamed in terror. Jace stood in front of the creature that replaced Bowser and felt his legs shaking violently.

"GET READY TO DIE, WORM!" the creature shrieked, his voice sounded like a million squealing demons formed into one whole skin: Giga Bowser!

"JACE IS DONE FOR!" Tre shouted.

"I'm done for?" Jace muttered.

"YOU'RE SO DONE FOR!" Giga Bowser took a step toward Jace. He grabbed the boy, tossed him in the air and delivered a colossal headbutt at him. Jace flew into his doom and everyone screamed.

"JACE'S GONE! JACE'S GONE!" Tre shouted.

"WHO'S NEXT?!" Giga Bowser roared, his eyes fixated on Jace's group. The group gulped.

"You are." Giga Bowser sneered.

"Leave them alone!" shouted Jace.

Giga Bowser looked surprised. He turned around and saw Jace descending the skies on a glowing platform. Jace looked angry and ready to fight.

"JACE'S ALIVE! JACE'S ALIVE!" Tre shouted.

"Of course Jace's alive. It's a 2-stock brawl you idiot!"

Jace jumped off the platform and approached Giga Bowser. "It's me you want, not them."

"GOOD ANSWER!" Giga Bowser roared, "YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE GRATED INTO-!"

The crowd oohed as Giga Bowser shrunk back into his regular form. Bowser looked surprised.

"Ohh! BOWSER WENT BACK TO NORMAL." Tre said.

"LIKE I SAID! YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE GRATED!"

Bowser ran toward Jace. Just as he was getting close to him. His tail pulled, halting his paces.

"SOMETHING JUST CAUGHT BOWSER!" Tre said.

"WHAT COULD IT BE?" Deen said.

Bowser turned around and saw standing there, his worst nightmare.

"WELL, I'LL BE DAMNED!" Tre exclaimed, "IT'S BOWSER'S SWORN NEMESIS! IT'S-"

"MARIO?" Bowser shouted when he saw the plumber grabbing hold of his tail.

"Mario!" Jenn beamed.

"Mario!" Luigi beamed.

"Mario!" Peach beamed.

"Mario!" Toad beamed.

"Master Mario!" Toadsworth beamed.

"Mario?" Jace blinked.

Mario smiled.

"What are-a you doing, Mario?" Luigi shouted at his brother. "That's-a cheatin'!"

Mario didn't listen and began to swing Bowser around by the tail and then finally tossed him to his doom.

OHHHH! The crowd roared in excitement.

"You're a-okay?" Mario asked.

"Yeah, I'm a-okay-I mean, okay." Jace replied, "What are you doing? That was my match!"

"Use your 3DS. It also has the power to give you special abilities." Mario advised.

Jace pulled out his 3DS, flipped it open and saw the bottom screen had so many options available for him, like item selection, move selection, even specials… all kind of menu. The move distinctive one of all was a silver Smash Symbol. He tapped on it and it changed into the Mushroom symbol in a bright light, and displayed right next to it all special familiar moves and abilities.

Then a light suddenly overwhelmed his entire body in a brief warm glow.

"_Magnifico_! Now you have-a the abilities of my brother Luigi!"

"Hein?" Luigi quacked.

Jace's jaws dropped, "Are you serious?"

ROAWWR!

Jace and Mario looked up. They quickly got out of the way as Bowser descended from the skies in the glowing platform. He left the platform and landed his feet onto solid ground.

"You are dead to me! DEAD!" he growled.

"IT'S LOOKS LIKE BOWSER'S BACK!"

"NOW THIS MATCH IS NO LONGER 1-ON-1 AS LUIGI AND MARIO ARE JOINING THE FRAY WITH LUIGI—I mean, JACE!" Deen shouted as Luigi leapt from the audience to join the arena. "Wait… WHAT'S GOING ON? WE GOT TWO LUIGIS NOW?!"

Jenn clapped her hands excitedly from the crowd. "eeeep! GO you guys!"

"Destroy him guys!" Peach exclaimed from the crowd.

"IT IS NOW A 3-ON-1 STOCK BRAWL!" Tre and Deen said together.

"At 150% starting damage meter with only one item: the glorious Smash Ball!" Deen added.

Luigi faced Jace, "you buddy, are not stealing my spotlight."

Jace shrugged, "okay." He smiled.

Bowser dashed toward the trio. Luigi and Mario dodged out of the way. Jace stood there. As Bowser got closer to him, Jace pulled his arm inward, his five fingers together and gut-stabbed him. Bowser yelped. Mario descended from the sky with his drill kick, then a flip kick toward Luigi, who sent him flying with a Super Jump Punch one-hit wonder. Bowser soared to the sky and the crowd screamed.

"WHOA! WHAT A BLOW! LUIGI—I MEAN, JACE HAS THE ADVANTAGE NOW!" Tre yelped.

"TALK ABOUT TEAMWORK!" Deen said.

"HEY, don't call me Jace!" Luigi complained, " _I'M_ Luigi!"

"UH-OH!"

The Smash Ball appeared before Jace. Jace ran toward it, threw a drill kick on it and began glowing.

"FINAL SMASH!" Jace pulled one foot backward in the air as Bowser landed toward him and at a split-second swung his foot up in a sweeping Flip Kick, nailing Bowser hard. A huge explosion shook the entire arena as the Flip Kick connected. Bowser felt a heavy blow on his abdomen and went flying to his doom. The crowd cheered oh-so loudly and time slow motioned to a complete stop.

"GAME!"

**xXx**

Jace and the gang found themselves back at the Rockefeller Center Square. The dark clouds have been lifted from the tower and the city, and the gang noticed a large crowd of citizens gathering before them, clapping and cheering. It's as if they have watched the battle between Jace, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser itself. And what an epic fight it was.

Jace noticed Jenn was with him; alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach and the Toads. But there was no sign of Bowser.

"What just happened?" Jace asked, seeing that he was not at Delfino Plaza anymore.

"I think." Jenn replied, "I think we defeated Bowser… _you_ defeated Bowser."

"We all-a defeated Bowser." Mario said before waving at the gathering crowd, "…but we're apparently drawing a crowd."

The heroes waved at the crowd. The crowd cheered out loud in response. Mario took the 3DS from Jace. Jace didn't have the chance to react, "Hey, what are you—!"

Mario tapped an app on the touch screen and a beaming light flickered on the stylus tip. He raised the stylus up and swung. The light shot from the stylus as a ball and struck the street where the crowd was.

Sparkling dusts rained on them and the crowd soon stopped clapping. Confused they looked around, then back at each other and finally they started dispersing off the center, minding their own businesses.

"What did you do to them?" Jenn asked Mario as he placed the stylus back to the 3DS stylus slot.

"I simply erased their memories." Mario said, "We do not-a want to draw too much attention to ourselves, especially since we all-a look different from your-a kind, and we need to find out more about the fate of our world."

"That's a more reasonable approach." Jenn said.

"I guess we do have a lot to think about." Jace said, "Like how we're gonna find your world for one, and two how am I gonna explain to Bell about the damage y'all did to my room."

Jace smiled nevertheless, breaking the tension between the characters, "But who cares about that? With you guys by my side, and this magical 3DS, this is gonna one hell of an unforgettable adventure!"

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Royal Battle in 3D_

* * *

**Author's Note: **There will be updates to this story posted every Sundays, leading up to November 18th, Wii U release date, where you'll be in for an end-of-year cliffhanger treat.

For the sequel, **Super Smash Bros. Universe, **go to "bit . ly /SSBUniverse" (remove the spaces). New episodes will be posted here and also on Wattpad.

You can also download the Wattpad app on your mobile phone to check out the stories: use this code '5135457' for **SSB3D** and '5912575' for **SSBU** on the search bar.


	4. Ep2:: Royal Battle in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

**Author's Note**: Look out for a new scene in this chapter.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Royal Battle in 3D_

* * *

The morning of New York City was shattered when a massive fireball ripped off a chunk of a high-level skyscraper. Citizens' screams followed.

Pit suddenly flew over the towering skycrapers, fully aware that he was being chased by flying minion dragons. The dragons spewed fire and Pit dodged every blow they could unleash. Their fire struck more skyscrapers, causing more screaming and more people to evacuate.

"The Underworld Army is attacking the city!" Pit shouted over the skies. He sported to his left ear a wireless Bluetooth earpiece.

An Arwing was then spotted, moving toward the angel from behind, "And so are the skies, kid! So are the skies!" Fox Mc. Cloud was heard from inside the Arwing.

_"Well then, let us keep destroying them."_ The voice of Samus Aran was heard from Pit's earpiece, _"What we do not want to catch is the people's attention."_

Too late. The battle in the sky not only caught the citizens' attentions but drew them closer to it like bees to honeycombs. Mass squads of NYPD police cruisers and motorbikes, FDNY's fire trucks, and ambulances came rushing in pursuit. Even the news crew showed up.

"Man, there sure are a lotta people out there." Falco said. "Place looks nothing like Cornelia."

Fox ignored the distraction and repetitively pushed on his laser button, firing at many of the flying Underworld creatures. Pit summoned his Blade and fired rapid-plasma shots. The two Nintendo characters moved in sync, blasting their enemies sky-high with assaults of lasers and gunblade energy blasts.

_"Falco. What of the status of the White Knight?"_ Samus spoke to Falco's Bluetooth earpiece.

Falco pushed on his earpiece and a small tiny holographic screen covered his eyes like sunglasses. He stared down below the city.

"White Knight is tracked and locked." Falco replied, zeroing in on a figure running through a blocked traffic on Fifth Avenue. It looked a lot like Jace Riders.

Fifth Avenue had to stay jam-packed by traffic with the city skies lighting up with explosions and fireworks above the panicky citizens, running and avoiding rains of defeated 3D-animated Nintendo monsters. They thought it was yet another terrorist attack but then when they saw these monsters coming down on them, they began questioning what the hell was going on.

Only Jace knew what was going on. And the answer was obvious: Super Smash Bros. 3D… in real life!

Ever since he stole the Nintendo 3DS, he had accidentally unleashed the Smash Bros. 3D world into his own world. And now like a viral infection, the colorful Nintendo characters—heroes, monsters and villains—were spreading out across the city and there was no way he alone could stop this.

He ran across the blocked traffic, leapt from cars to cars, soared over people, and dodged over the crashing monsters.

Suddenly a Shadow Beast from _Zelda Twilight Princess_ came down on two taxis, crushing their tops with their massive black feet. The startled Jace almost lost his balance by the beast's appearance. Drivers and passengers evacuated their vehicles and sped off the streets joining the fleeing pedestrians at the sight of the black menace.

The Shadow Beast swung its arms at Jace. Jace bent back, dodging the attack. The Beast then swung under and Jace jumped. Jace quickly grabbed an umbrella from a fleeing middle-aged gentleman and right when the Beast brought two arms down at him, he blocked upward with the umbrella. The Beast pushed its arms down, forcing Jace on his knees. The beast snarled.

"AAaah—! M-MAN, you're freakishly strong!" he exclaimed.

The beast snarled again.

Jace managed to push the Shadow Beast back and swung the umbrella. The Beast back-flipped and melted into the cab's top. Jace froze. The Shadow Beast re-emerged from behind; its hissing caught his attention. Jace pulled the umbrella open, pushing the Shadow Beast back once more. But the force pushed him back also, and he let go off the umbrella, tripped off from the car to land on another.

The Shadow Beast jumped and landed on top of Jace, its feet spread apart crushed the car's top and framed his chest; its humane fingers ran through the car's top near his face. Jace gasped, sweats poured down on his forehead. The Beast tauntingly closed its face at him, letting its tentacles tickle his smooth face. Jace sputtered. "Aww, man… this is worse than being pinned down by a roach…!"

The Beast pulled its hands off the broken car top and raised its arms ready to bring it down on him. A bright light suddenly came charging at the creature and struck it hard on its plate-shaped chest. It flew off Jace and back 20 feet, hissing in pain before crashing to a lamp post. Jace turned away from the beast and faced Pit descending besides him, wielding a cannon on hand.

"Somebody called for a guardian angel?" Pit asked.

"Pit?" Jace blinked, "Pit of Skyworld?"

"In the flesh!" Pit pulled Jace up to his feet, "Well, not exactly in the flesh. More like in a form not like yours, but cooler." He beamed, "Boy! Am I glad to see you're still alive!"

_Pheeeewww…_

The number of running citizens suddenly increased, and so was the hissing noise behind Jace and Pit. The duo narrowed their eyes suspiciously.

"Is someone whistling?" Pit asked.

Jace looked over Pit and watched a Bullet Bill coming straight toward them. "That's no whistling!"

Pit looked back and his blue eyes widened. The Bullet Bill was closing in, its shark teeth ready to devour its prey.

"OH SNAP!" Pit left the car's top and immediately whisked Jace into the air by the colon seconds before the Bullet Bill struck down the car they were standing on. "WHOA!"

Pit and Jace watched the rain of Bullet Bills traversing the streets and taking down all the cars out of the way and at their pursuit. The running crowd picked up pace.

One cabdriver who came through an intersection got out of his vehicle and watched the panicked citizens. He looked to his left and watched the Bullet Bill coming toward him. "Uh-oh..."

The Bullet Bill struck the vehicle and he went flying from the billowing explosion.

"Oh, NOW we got Bullet Bills?" Jace complained, as thousands of Bullet Bills continued its pursuit.

"Be thankful that they're NOT Ganewmedes!" Pit exclaimed, "Now these guys are scary."

"Oooh… yeah, tell me about it." Jace exclaimed, "I once had a nightmare of them, almost wet my bed!"

"No kidding?"

"Yeah, no chi…OHHH!" Jace screamed, watching a Bullet Bill speeding at them from the front. Pit twirled down with Jace, avoiding the bullet. The bullet ripped through more vacant cars along the way. More explosions ignited the streets.

Fox and Falco were airborne, crossing the streets and watching the Bullet Bills razing through the avenue.

"_Pit and Jace, pick up pace!"_ Samus was heard on Fox's earpiece, "_Fox and Falco, you guys deal with the Bullet Bills."_

"On it!" Fox yelled out. His Arwing and Falco's went apart and started firing lasers at the Bullet Bills. The Bills exploded, causing more explosive chaos in the air.

More Bullet Bills flew toward the city. So were more of the Underworld dragons. Falco's Arwing descended until it was now on target to the enemies and the Bullet Bills. The Arwing twirled facing the enemies, "Eat cheese, creeps!" Falco exclaimed and fired a powerful cannonball-shaped laser, wiping out the creatures and bombs. More explosive clouds ripped the city skies.

One of the Underworld dragon flew past Falco and went at Jace and Pit's pursuit. "HEEY!" Falco barked.

"_Guys! Pick up paces! Pick up paces!_ " Fox shouted, addressing to Pit via his earpiece. Pit cocked his head on the side, not understanding the message. Jace saw the dragon at full pursuit and his eyes stretched out wide, "Watch out! Watch out! WATCH OUT!"

Pit finally took notice of the dragon behind. The Dragon spewed a tree-size blue beam, "WHOOAA!" Pit let go off Jace and flew upward. The screaming Jace tumbled on the cars like a ragged doll. The Dragon's beam vanished and Pit rushed to grab Jace again.

"Oops! Sorry!" the angel grinned nervously, "You're okay?"

"I'll be f-fine…!" Jace slurred.

The dragon charged and shot another beam. Pit and Jace kept on dodging the beast's attack. The pursuit went on till the duo reached Washington Square Park. The chaos of the city was behind them, but its noises still lingered from the dragon. Luckily there was not many witnesses in sight.

"I'll take it from here Pit!" Jace said.

"Y'sure pal?" Pit asked, making for a landing.

Jace landed firmly on solid concrete, "Yeah!" he faced the dragon, ready to charge another beam. He pulled out his Nintendo 3DS—the magical limited-edition Smash Bros Nintendo 3DS—from his side pockets and pulled out its stylus, "Watch the magic!"

The dragon shot another beam. He pointed the stylus at the Dragon like a wand and a spark of electricity shot out of the stylus, cut through the dragon's beam and surged through the dragon. The dragon roared in pain until its massive size shrank down to a mini-figurine form before Pit and a few onlookers. Some of the onlookers fainted. Some of them were frozen solid in utter shock.

Pit beamed, "ALL RIGHT! Thanks buddy!" Pit grabbed the dragon by the tail before it could flee; "Now I got a play date!"

Jace blew on the stylus and took off halfway down the block, running, and nearing NYU's entrance. He then saw Mario and Luigi before him. He skidded to a complete stop.

"You're-a getting late." Mario said to him.

Jace huffed, "Boy, you have-a no idea."

"Only thirty seconds left!" Mario announced, "Here's-a your duffel bag." He handed Jace's bag to him. Jace slipped his bag over his shoulder.

"And your books!" Luigi slammed down heavy books to Jace's arms.

"Thanks!" Jace was about to take off when he stopped, "Wait a minute, thirty seconds?! I won't make it."

"Shortcut!" Luigi pointed on the ground on cue for Mario to raise his arm up. A Green Pipe pulled out of the concrete floor before Jace.

"Sweet!" Jace grinned, "Thanks!" He jumped onto the pipe and quickly the platform he was in sank him deep into the pipe. Everything went dark for a brief second and he felt the same platform take him up out of the pipe like an elevator.

He saw the hallway before him and his classroom was right beside him. Luckily, nobody was in the hallway to see this little Nintendo trick. He jumped off the pipe and the pipe vanished back into the slick tile floor. He dashed into the classroom. It looked like a typical student classroom with rows of tables and students' seats following down the steps like at a small stadium and facing a large white overhead and a podium where the professor was. The professor was taking roll.

Jace quickly went down the steps, catching nearby students' attention besides him. He made sure he wasn't making too much noise but was quick enough to reach his seat. He saw Hunt in the middle. Hunt pointed him a spot next to him and Jace went for it, squeezing past complaining students.

"Jacen Riders?" the professor finally said his name.

Jace landed on his seat and dropped his duffel bag on the ground, "HERE!" he shouted with a heavy sigh.

"Emma Stevenson?" The professor went on with the roll call. Hunt smiled at his friend, "So, you're right on time. How was your marathon?" he joked.

Jace fought to speak through his labored wheezing, but couldn't get the words out. "…j…just… peachy… wake me up when the stars are done dancing will ya?" his eyes rolled up like slot machines and everything went black afterward.

All students turned to the attention of the fainted student. Even the professor stopped taking roll call. Hunt threw a dismissive hand, smiling ear to ear, "he'll be fine."

xXx

-**New York University, Quad-**

"**Monsters Onslaught in New York City! Nintendo's Biggest All-Stars Spotted!** "

This was the biggest news headline that was sweeping the nation and the world.

TVs, radios, and the Internet were at a blasting buzz on the battle in Manhattan, New York City that happened earlier that morning. Details emerged on flying Underworld monsters and Bullet Bills, and Nintendo characters flying over the city taking them down one by one. If it wasn't the sudden sky battle, their lively 3D appearances were quite shocking as well. So shocking that the people began to speculate that this was one of Nintendo's brilliant P.R. and Marketing attempt to promote their upcoming _Super Smash Bros. 3D_ game for the Nintendo 3DS, soon to be released in a couple of months to attract gamers, fans, and beyond. That speculation turned to rumor and thousands of news media wanted confirmation from Nintendo. It was the biggest news since _Pearl Harbor_, _9/11_, and the _SuperBowl_ _2004_ scandal, so not a single person missed out.

Jace and Hunt were on the university quad among the crowd full of students and teachers when a group of male students—two Caucasians and one African American—were passing by.

"Yo, guys!" one of the Caucasian students said, "You've seen the Smash Bros. Battle in New York City?!"

"It's all over the news man!" the second Caucasian student said.

Jace looked surprised. Hunt however had a huge smile on his face, "Really?"

"Yeah. _YouTube_ is _trending_!" the African-American student was checking on his Droid phone, "Eight million views in one _hour_!"

Jace gaped. Hunt's smile widened. "Wow!"

"Wait… so it's all over the Internet?" Jace exclaimed.

"Yeah man." The first student said, "What part of _YouTube_ is trending don't you understand? You should check it out." The rest of the group all said in agreement.

"He doesn't have to." Hunt informed the guys, "He was there!"

Jace cut him off with one arm wrapped around his neck and a hand over his mouth. "…Uhh!" he smiled back at the posse who looked on suspiciously. "_We'll_ check it out. So that to make it look like we _were_ there. Y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"A'ight man. Peace out." The guys took off, on their way to their next class.

Jace let go off Hunt and stared at his friend brushing off dusts from his tongue and gagging. He then shook his head, "I don't believe this is happening."

Hunt finished brushing his tongue to scowl at his friend, "Yeah but I'm still mad at you!"

Jace threw a hand in dismissal, "Oh please, it's only my hand."

"No. not that!" Hunt exclaime, gagged again briefly, then went on, "You were on the very streets of Manhattan when it happened and you didn't even record it on your iPhone?"

"I would've," Jace said, "but with heavy traffic and all the explosions raining down on me, I'd rather run for my life than to film monsters that'll take away my life!"

Hunt cocked his head on one side, noticing Jace was practically losing his breath just by talking, "Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Jace said dismissively, shaking his head. He then suddenly closed in on Hunt, "Let's go to the Nintendo World Store! Maybe we'll find something interesting."

"Hey! Great ide—whoa!" before Hunt could finish, Jace shoved him out the school quad.

xXx

**Nintendo World Store**

The Nintendo World Store was swarming with reporters, those of the national hard-hitting news to those from the entertainment and videogame industry. Cameras flickered in millions lights, microphones were shoved toward a Nintendo representative who was standing behind a table with two more Nintendo executives besides him on their seats: Noir Deroi and Mr. Oiji. A flood of jabbers shot across the store demanding explanation to NYC's sudden attack. Was it really viral marketing purposes… or was it too real and beyond Nintendo's control? How will it affect _Smash Bros. 3D_ upcoming release? Upon that topic, questions about the theft of the limited-edition 3DS console in Japan surfaced as well, and Jace and Hunt were just in time to hear it as they entered the store.

"Hey, are those the two executives from Japan?" Hunt pointed, recognizing the executives. The surprised Jace also recognized them. He quickly pulled Hunt away from the crowd and they hid behind a wall before the executives could spot them.

The Nintendo rep spoke with a heavy Italian accent, causing silence to fall on the crowd; but the cameras kept on flashing its lights. The man was scruffy-looking with a short white beard and white hair combed to one side. He was heavy-looking and sported a four-piece Armani suit, a fancy trenchcoat attached behind like a cape, a ruby ring on his right pinkie finger, and a cane with a gold snakehead at the top. For a Nintendo rep, he looked rather spiffy. Almost too fashionable.

"To be honest, ladies and gentlemen," he said, "The rumors on what happened this morning are true. It was all part of our Marketing strategy to bring the hype of _Super_ _Smash Bros. 3D_ to the world."

More questions and exclamations came surging out from the journalism audience. More cameras flashed across the store. Jace was surprised by the man's statement. But he wasn't done yet, "You've seen the buildings and streets been repaired in a flash, right? Our intention was to entertain, not to hurt people in the process. Now for those who were hurt in the incident, our company will pay for your medical attentions at full charge. Consider it our condolences. Oh! And a free Nintendo 3DS-shaped _desk_ to all accountable!"

Another reporter exclaimed, "Mr. Vermichello, sir!"

"It's _Signore_ Vermichello." He corrected with a smile.

"R-right. Sir." The reporter went on, "Would we be expecting more of these viral actions from you guys? 'Cuz my 6-year old son just came back from school and told me that he saw a trail of _ExciteBike_ riders causing trouble at his schoolyard during Recess."

The reporters and the fans turned their attention toward Vermichello, murmuring upon hearing this. Signore Vermichello glanced over his two comrades sitting beside him and they all secretly shrugged. This was apparently brand-new information for them and for everyone else. Jace and Hunt looked on interested.

"There will be more." Vermichello smiled, "In fact, don't be surprised when Solid Snake sneaks up from your bathtub."

The crowd turned uncomfortable as Vermichello laughed, and so were Deroi and Oiji, "Ahh, just kidding! Anymore questions?"

More questions continued to pour down on the executives.

"Never in my entire life would I have imagined the world of _Smash Bros._ unleashed into my own world, like in a city like New York City." Jace said to Hunt before muttering, "…all I had to do was steal a 3DS."

Hunt looked confused, "Okay, what does that have to do with—?"

"Nothing!" Jace dismissively said again. "Hey don't you have to go to the Pokémon Center? Don't you have a Shiny Zekrom to trade for?"

"Well, actu—whoa!" Jace cut him off again by twirling him to face the Pokémon Center and shoved him toward it. Seconds later, Jace suddenly felt a hand grab him from behind. It went on so fast he didn't see who it was and found himself sitting on a chrome-colored bean bag chair.

"WHOA! HEY! Wha—!" he noticed Falco, Samus, and Fox towering before him. Once again he was speechless by their presences: Samus looked quite hot without her helmet on. But Fox and Falco were beyond belief. They were like, cooler than the _Muppets_ or _Looney Tunes_ in.

"What's the matter, boy?" Falco asked him rudely. "Looks like you've seen a ghost."

Jace shook his head, snapping out of his frozen state, "Okay, this whole me-getting-surprised deal is gonna take some getting used to it. I'd say two years top. Since I'm still shocked at SEEING YOU IN REAL LIFE!"

"But are you shocked seeing me?" spoke a voice Jace recognized all too well. The Nintendo characters stepped back and Jace was shocked to see who it was.

"_Ojisan_ !"

Dimentio's eyes narrowed. His face flushed dark red in absolute fury.

_"_Hey, what a pleasant sur—!" Jace suddenly felt a hand run across his face so fast, his head twisted sideways and his left cheek was on fire. Dimentio had slapped him.

"What were you thinking, _nipote?_" _Nephew_ in Italian, Dimentio barked, "Steal a powerful device like this. Do you realize what you just did?"

Jace tried to speak but the furious Dimentio went on ranting, "You've unleashed complete catastrophe on the planet! _Completo_ _catastrofe_! By unleashing the Nintendo World into the Real World, you've caused two great dimensions in the history of mankind to collide into one billowing intergalactic cosmos that cannot be undone! That could threaten the very foundation of the planet, that could—!"

Jace had stopped listening to his uncle at ' _completo'_, as his eyes wandered across his surroundings. He slowly pushed himself off the beanbag chair to stare in awe of where he was: It was a massive spacious lounge made of fine glass and ivory and sapphire structures. There were lots and lots of tall tables surrounded by tall stools, and some small tables surrounded by beanbag chairs. All were occupied by the many faces of Nintendo characters from various Nintendo World. At the farthest side of the chamber were thousand of small screens, some graced in midair, while some graced into one large widescreen HDTV. The place was like a major coffeehouse/Apple Store, with a combination of the Challenge Screen from _Smash Brawl_ and the Home Menu of the _WiiU_. Heck, it looked like he was _inside_ a _WiiU_ !

Jace couldn't take his eyes off this beautiful scenery… plus the echoing sound of people's feet, scuffing the ivory mirror-like floor that made the place sound like at an airport. That smooth sound feeling was of course broken by the loud hand clap in his ears by his uncle.

"Ow!"

"Focus when I'm talking to you, kid!" Dimentio barked.

"…do you have to be this loud, _Ojisan_?" Jace whined, rubbing on his sore ear.

"YESS!" Dimentio barked; his voice rang across the room once more, "If I want my stubborn _nipote_ to listen, I might as well be as LOUD as a DUMBBELL slammed on a METAL POLE!"

Jace squinted, slowly shrinking back. His Ojisan was _really_ mad at him for what he did. Stealing was one thing, but unleashing a new world onto an old one was another. That counted for double the punishment.

"I don't think you should be mad at him, Dr. Dimentio." Samus said, her blue eyes gave the doctor a gentle reassurance, "He didn't know about the Nintendo World or the Legend of Old."

"Yeah," said Fox cheerfully, "besides he was late for class this morning and monsters were after him… well, after us. After all, he is the White Knight!"

"Yeah… a White Knight who doesn't know how to think!" Dimentio mumbled.

Jace straightened, "Now wait a minute here, _Ojisan_." He said, turning an accusing eye at his uncle, "I apparently am not the only one who doesn't know how to think. You knew about the Nintendo World being real all this time now did you? And you didn't even warn me!"

"Okay, what are you talking about?"

"…and you knew that this Nintendo 3DS," he waved the limited-edition 3DS to his uncle, "was the only key to unleash it to our world, if not just used to travel _into_ it." Jace said, "But in the case of traveling _into_ the game, all I had to do was to put a game inside it and _voila_… instant 3D. Like _actually_ being there!"

The small Smash Bros. crowd all spoke amongst themselves, somehow agreeing to Jace's statement.

"Okay, you speak nonsense!" Dimentio said; his voice picking up tempo and sounded dismissive, giving Jace the sense that his uncle was lying.

The young man crossed his arms, smirking. "Really? The _Nintendog_ you entrusted to Jenn." He swept his arms across his surroundings, "…this place? Does all of this ring a bell, Uncle Liar?"

Falco approached Dr. Dimentio and wrapped an arm around him, "Sir, you might as well tell him. He _is_ the White Knight."

Dimentio paused uncomfortably. "Allright, fine!" he hissed, pulling Falco's arm off him, "I knew about the Nintendo World before."

"Ha-Ah!" Jace gloated.

"But that doesn't mean you're off the hook, _nipote_!" Dimentio angrily pointed at his nephew, "Not only you stole the Nintendo 3DS, you unleashed its world into our own, and your actions puts you into a really tough spot!"

"Yes I know." Jace sighed. "I'm now the White Knight."

"Chosen hero to free the Nintendo world." Mario said as he stepped over to join the group.

Jace once again looked across his surroundings, "…seriously, what _is_ this place? It looks better than the Plaza."

"This… is the MiiVerse Lounge." Dr. Dimentio said, his arms sweeping across the grand room, "Designed by the 3rd Dimensional Screen to form a hub of reprieve for all Nintendo residents, seeking to communicate with both the Nintendo world and the world it has been connected into."

"_MiiVerse_ ?" Jace laughed at the name, "Hey that sounds like the _WiiU_ Home Screen!"

"That's because it _is_ the _MiiVerse_, _nipote_!" Dr. Dimentio replied with a huge haughty smile on his face as he studied his nephew's eyes widening in shock and awe, "Redesigned from the Nintendo Network into a real-life social universe! You can get coffee, talk to friends; do all kind of fun stuffs…"

"You… can get coffee in here?" Jace blinked.

"And," Fox further explained, "You can figure out what's happening anywhere in our world and yours without having to stress out. Through this big screen and all these other screens floating by."

Jace examined again the tiny screens flying by.

"As a White Knight," Dimentio went on, "you will use the 3 rd Dimensional Screen to communicate with these Nintendo characters, and travel in and out of the Nintendo world to defeat any potential threat to our environment. With what happened with the monsters recently, our enemies are on the move."

"Bowser, right?" Jace said.

"No, the Nintendo Villains." Fox said, "Bowser, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Dedede, Black Knight, Nergal and Medusa."

Fox blew a whistle and one of the flying monitor screens came to the group. Fox approached and tapped on the screen to display a holographic image of the Empire State Building, "Only the first three got spotted inside this Building, waiting for a chance for you to slip up so that they can destroy you and take advantage of the 3rd Dimensional Screen."

"Think of it like they're having a birthday party, only with the people trying to kill you." Falco said to Jace.

"Hey, that's my line!" Pit complained to Falco. Falco threw a hand in dismissal.

"But don't-a worry, buddy!" Mario said, "We'll-a help you battle them all."

"I hope so!" Dimentio sounded worried, "The last thing I want is my nephew dying on me just because of something _he_ did…!"

He paused, noticing all eyes on him, "…or something I did also." He shook his head, "No, you know what, it's something _we_ did!"

He glared back at Jace, "I ain't taking all the blame now mister! And can we like make sure no living soul gets affected by this again, like this morning?! That means don't tell anyone you know! Not even Hunt!"

"Wait, whoa! Not even Hunt?" Jace exclaimed, "I can understand keeping this from my mom, since she's halfway across the country, but Hunt? He's nosy! He'll figure this out and know what's up before I can even say TUMOR!"

The characters and Dimentio exchanged puzzled glances. "Tumor?" they mumbled.

Jace ignored them, "I can't keep this a secret from Hunt!"

"Then tell him the secret already." Falco complained.

"I can't do that either. He's too chicken when it comes to stuff like that." He then faced Mario, "Remember how freaked out I was when I saw you the first time?"

"Like it's-a was yesterday." Mario replied with a grin.

"Right. Hunt is like ten times that freak show! He'll NEVER let this go! Worse, he'll report it to the FBI."

The group gasped. "nooo…"

"FBI?" Falco exhaled, "What is he, on special medicine?"

"That's Hunt to ya. Cool guy but… we had a close call with the fiasco of this morning and I'm not gonna risk it by telling Hunt this. The Nintendo reps are actually taking the blame for this, so I'll make sure they keep it that way." He turned to leave the MiiVerse Lounge but then stopped to face them again, "Oh, and can you guys make sure that these villains don't attack the city again, OR catch any more attention? They're YOUR enemies, not mine!"

He was off. The Smash Bros. and Dr. Dimentio exchanged glances.

"Okay, WHY on Earth would these Nintendo reps take all the credits for something WE did?" Falco scoffed.

Mario looked up in thought, "What's FBI?"

xXx

"This is the craziest news story ever! Nintendo… characters… ALIVE in this city!"

Maple slammed the _New York Times_ in front of Patricia, her face gleamed just by the sight of the caught-on-camera pic of the Smash Bros. battling the monsters above the city skyscrapers.

Jenn was passing by when she saw that newspaper and the highlight in big century letters.

"**Monsters Onslaught in New York City! Nintendo's Biggest All-Stars Spotted!** "

Her heart skipped a beat.

"I know right?" Patricia who was on her iPhone 4S replied to Maple, "Biggest news story since 9/11! Over _twelve millions views_ so far, and the comments are _flowing_!"

Jenn's eyes widened. She was expecting the Smash Bros. appearance in New York to make national headlines ever since Jace stole that magical 3DS, but she never expected it to be _this_ soon.

"Aunt Claris read this earlier and she thought it was the end of the world." Maple said to Pat.

"Ahh, old people and their oh-so-wise judgments." Pat commented.

The Japanese guy in the boxing outfit noticed Jenn frozen in place as he came past her from behind. He paused briefly.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?"

She gasped sharply, startled by his presence. "Ohh." She exhaled and laughed nervously, "Oh, nothing! Nothing that concerns you… or me… I'm… I'm sorry."

"Is this about the whole Smash Bros. Battle in New York thing?" he asked her, "You can't miss such big news like this."

"I know." Jenn said, "It's just that…! Well…"

"Hey Jenn!" Pat called her. Jenn jumped once more. She turned to the two girls who approached her and forged a smile. "H-hi."

"You're Jenn right?" Pat clarified, "Jace's cousin?"

Before Jenn could respond, Maple rudely interrupted her, "Ugh… you again."

Jenn frowned and was about to say something rude to Maple, when she noticed Maple's attention wasn't on her but on the young stranger instead.

Pat's eyes however glowed at his sights, "No-no!" she said, "No-no. _He_ ain't _ugh_ . _He_ is famous."

Maple looked back at Pat, stunned. Jenn and the young stranger raised eyebrows. "Really?" Maple said.

"Oh yeah!" Maple then approached him, "You're Featherweight boxing champion Hans right? Hans from Japan?"

A faint smile appeared on Hans' lips, "I see you follow boxing."

Pat shook her head, "Nah, my dad's a boxing fanatic. He watched your last matches on our DVR."

"Right on."

Jenn noticed Hunt coming in and rushed up to him, "HUNT!"

That caught the group's attention and they followed. Hunt noticed Jenn approaching him, "Hey Jenn!" he smiled at her, "What's—!"

Before Hunt could finish, Jenn grabbed him by the shoulder and pinned him to a nearby pillar so fast that he didn't even realize his predicament until he saw her ticked-off glare.

"Wh-what the—?!" he gasped.

"Where's Jace?" she hissed threateningly.

"J…Jace said he had to stick around the Nintendo World Store for awhile!" Hunt stammered, "See if he can get some Nintendo inside info so he said… what's wrong with you? You're all freaked out! You're freaking ME out!"

Jenn released Hunt and stepped back.

"I see you haven't seen the headlines!" Maple enlightened Hunt with the newspaper headlines. Pat waved her iPhone with the picture on display, and Hans said nothing.

"Oh you mean that Battle in New York that Nintendo pulled up earlier this morning?" Hunt then grinned widely, "Man, the things Nintendo do sometimes ALWAYS amaze me!"

"Wait… so you don't KNOW?" Jenn exclaimed. She froze up, suddenly realizing she said that out loud as all heads turned suspiciously to her direction.

Hunt looked bewildered, "Know?" he asked, "Know what?"

"What's going on?" Pat asked with concern. But Jenn didn't answer. She was too preoccupied with worries.

xXx

The interview about the Battle in New York ended, and so were all the other financial and business plans for Nintendo Corp., and Jace watched as a few journalists, bloggers, guest gamers and employees within the store exchanged polite conversations with the Nintendo execs over coffees, teas, and pastries.

Jace was planning to talk to the execs about the lies concerning them being responsible for what happened this morning, and persuading them on keeping up with that lie in the future to prevent further suspicions. To actually go for it was nerve-racking, especially since he stole a precious product from them, but in the end it should pay off for everyone's sake.

His biggest worry was Noir Deroi. He was successful, professional… and Jace was quite wary of him. But then again they were about the same age. So talking to him privately could benefit in the situation at play here.

The execs finished and gathered over to the stage to talk to each other some more, leaving the rest of the crowd in their businesses. Jace seized that chance to approach them and quickly walked past the crowd.

He found his way to them, stepped onto the large podium and approached. The execs shifted their attention to him. He froze in place and let out a deep breath.

"Well!" Noir barely formed a faint smile at Jace's presence. But that didn't stop Jace from smiling broadly at him, "if it isn't Dimentio's little boy."

Jace frowned, eyebrow rose, "Uh… dude. We're the same age."

Noir said nothing, appearing listless as if he hadn't heard him. He quietly sipped his coffee.

"Ahh!" Signore Vermichello clasped his hands and approached Jace with open arms, "Well, if it isn't that one of our engineering sons, Dr. Dimentio."

"No, that's his nephew." Mr. Oiji corrected the Italian exec. "He's very nice boy."

Jace smiled at that compliment, though he was still nervous with his shoulders up and his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I… guess I am…"

"Is there something I can help you with, young man?" asked the Signore. Jace turned his focus on Noir who was quietly walking away from the place through the backdoor without bothering looking back.

"Well, actually," he faced the Signore again; "I wanted to talk to Noir. It's…" he paused, gesturing, "…kinda urgent. So… I'm gonna go…" He started toward the young exec when the Signore pulled him back. "Oh-Hoh! I don't-a think so, young man."

Jace looked back at the two executives. Mr. Oiji was still quiet and Noir was now leaving behind his shadow. The Signore had his arm lovingly wrapped around Jace's shoulder.

"You know, we may not-a be related, but I see your uncle as…" the Signore looked up the skylight ceiling and proudly said, "_Mio Figlio._"

_My son_ in Italian, Jace translated in his mind. "Ohh… kay…"

"So as _mio figlio_ , we share a bond. And that bond, like blood, is so precious and connected to one another that no deep dark secret can cut through it, as it is liquid. It'll _drrrrrown_ onto it."

Jace no longer smiled. He looked lost. "Wait… so the bond will… drown in blood?"

The Signore suddenly spun Jace around and stared deeply into his eyes, "What do you know about the stolen Nintendo 3DS?" he quickly interjected.

Jace paled up at that forceful tone in the Signore's voice. "The stolen 3DS?" he repeated then shook his head, "Wh-what are you talking about sir? I don't know anything about…" He laughed nervously, feeling that icy aura of dread falling on him by his sight, "…about a stolen… 3DS…!" he shook his head and his nervous tone suddenly forged into shock, "Stolen?!"

The Signore let go off Jace. Jace stumbled back a bit, stunningly gazing back. The Signore was onto him.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" the Signore laughed, looking back at Mr. Oiji and then back at Jace. Oiji laughed along, his laughter full of cheers. Jace's laugh was nerve-racking.

"Wh-why are we laughing?" he asked.

"Oh, right!" the Signore said, "Why are-a we laughing? A good-a question." He cleared his throat, rubbing his bearded chin, "Remember the Battle in New York? Well… _everrryone_ should remember the Battle of New York, no? Well, I remember it verrrry well."

"That's because it _just_ happened." Jace said, "Y'know? You guys made it happen, remember?"

The Signore shook his head, "I don't-a think so. Emm… please step back and watch this."

On cue he clapped his hands and the podium shifted. Jace noticed the floor beneath him opening up and he jumped back. Out of that floor came out a mechanical 3D form of robot, shaped like Donkey Kong. Weighing more than 500-pound and standing about 12 feet tall, it caught the attention of many within the Nintendo World Store.

"We at Nintendo," the Signore began, "took this advantage of having our _rrrreal_-life 3D animated _hybrids_ you called Nintendo characters, take yet _another_ role. And that is the role of law enforcement. BeHOLD, ladies and gentlemen. I present you, the Giant Donkey Kong!"

Cameras of all shapes and sizes flicked open and flashed across the store, capturing into pixels what could yet be another historical New York and gaming memory. Jace couldn't fathom the splendor of that DK also. It was in 3D animated, but it wasn't quite as authentic as the actual Smash Brothers. Its body was covered in steel.

Mario, Luigi, Fox, Falco and Dr. Dimentio showed up just in time to see the manmade creature.

"Holy mother of Beef…" Falco breathed. "Mamamiiiaaa…" Mario breathed. "Noooo waaaay…" Fox exhaled.

"This creature," Stefano announced, "has been made to set sight on our corporate crook! Recently one of our Nintendo 3DS units, a special one to come with the Smash Bros. 3D bundle, has been stolen last week and so far we have yet to catch this criminal. What we know so far is that this criminal lives in Manhattan, New York, USA."

"So!" the Signore went on, just in time for Hunt, Jenn, Pat, Maple and Hans to show up as well, "On behalf of Mr. Oiji and Mr. Deroi who…" the Signore paused, "…apparently has left the building… we will use that device to catch the crook…"

Jace's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open.

"…and have him _crushed_…"

Jace startled at that tone alone.

"…into Giant Donkey Kong's hands."

Jace knew he was being watched. Not only by his friends, but by these sneaky executives and the whole public. But then again, he didn't have the Nintendo 3DS at that very moment! He gave it to Hunt before the young geek left to return home at the Plaza. That could very well put his best friend in danger. Panic flooded his mind as he turned to Hunt's attention. Hunt simply shrugged, still having no clue on what was going on.

"Now allow us to demonstrate." The Signore pulled out his Wii Remote Plus and pressed the Home-Button. The Giant Donkey Kong's eyelids shifted open like a set of portals. The crowd was amazed. The giant apparition quickly drew thousands—then millions of witnesses outside the store—to set their sights on the colossal 3D animated robot.

"This… was just a little slice of the pie. But now, with a GPS tracking device now installed on all 3DS, including this one, watch the magic on what that thing can _really_ do, when the culprit is found." The Signore said with a smile before facing the Giant DK, "Donkey Kong! Find the culprit!"

The Signore pressed the A-button on his Wii Remote Plus. That's when Jace made his move.

He turned around and jumped off the podium. The DK raised his fist up and aimed it straight at Hunt! Hunt blinked.

Mega DK fired his punch. The flying punch cut through the crowd. All who were near the colossal's fist either jumped or ducked out of the way, screaming. Jace was still running ahead of the punch, heading straight for his best friend.

"LOOK OUT!"

Just when Hunt's eyes went wide open, realizing what was going on, Jace pinned him to the ground with a sheer brutal force. Crowd full of customers, reporters and witnesses jumped back, startled as the flying punch swam past them and nimbly went past Jace and Hunt. But the punch wasn't slowing down. It headed straight for Jenn.

The fist uncurled its fingers and with a firm grasp, scooped Jenn off her feet and crashed through the Nintendo World Store's doors, forcing everyone watching from outside to jump back. Jenn's scream echoed into the cityscape and more media attention turned to the captured young teen. Jace helplessly watched his cousin vanishing into the sky.

The Mega DK raised his other arm up to the sky and his entire body shot through the store's rooftop, through the skyscraper and into the sky he went also. The whole city watched the Mega DK disappearing into a speck.

Jace pulled Hunt up to his feet. "Phew!" Hunt smiled broadly, "Thank you man! That was…!"

"Yeah-yeah-yeah, that's nice!" the preoccupied Jace briefly searched through Hunt before facing him, "where's the 3DS?" he asked.

"Gave it to Jenn."

"WHAAAT?!" The Smash Brothers exclaimed. Hunt noticed the Smash Bros before him.

"Oh my gosh…" he articulated, "I am staring… right at the Smash Brothers… and I am so... not... fainting…"

"Hunt!" Jace's frantic shout startled him, "Focus man! Why did you do that for? Now that Donkey Kong is gonna kill Jenn!" he took off in a mad dash, leaving Hunt completely bewildered.

"Kill Jenn?!" Dr. Dimentio screamed, and went after Jace. Then the Smash Brothers, and finally the crowd after.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

Jace's DC skate shoes pounded the pavement of the busy streets of New York. He swung past incoming traffics; leaping over cars hoods, swerving past bikes and motorbikes, stepping back from screeching trucks and ignoring the angry shouts of drivers. He even crossed five green lights, some were turning red. He didn't care once for his safety as all of his attention was on saving his cousin, once again captured by a Nintendo villain… or robot.

He quickly made a sharp turn to a corner down the NY Public Library when he finally skidded to a full stop. He crouched, resting his hands on his knees with sweats streaming down his face and his wheezing escalating. His bones ached from all that running and his vision blurred, helplessly observing the colossal monster heading straight for the Empire State Building.

"Jace!"

Jace heard Dr. Dimentio call out to him. He turned to see the paranoid uncle and the Smash Brothers approaching him. Hunt, Pat, Maple and Hans also followed behind. He straightened with a low painful groan.

"Where's my daughter?!" Dimentio demanded.

"Unhh…"

"You need to get my daughter out of harm's way!" he snapped, pointing a finger at him, "Do you understand me?!"

"Now now Dr. Dimentio, everything's gonna be okay." Fox said to him with a reassuring tone. Just hearing Fox talked made Maple and Pat silently squealed in delight. The Smash Brothers were actually alive and talking, all 3D-like. Hunt didn't squeal in delight. Instead his eyes gleamed under his specs, shocked and amazed to stand in front of them in the flesh. It was like being with celebrities in a dream.

"And how do you know that exactly?" Dimentio argued with Fox.

"If you calm the bloody heck down for once," Falco argued with the doctor, "Then everything IS gonna be okay!"

"Gee, Falco." Luigi mumbled sarcastically, "I wonder how well you'll do as a customer service rep."

"Jace," Hunt turned to his best friend, suddenly turning impatient, "I asked you a question and you didn't answer me man! How is giving Jenn the 3DS is gonna kill her? Why is that Giant DK captured Jenn, and oh my gosh, can I get these guys' autographs and pictures or something? Because I'm like, _dreaming_!"

"Wait," Maple looked shocked, "someone's getting killed?"

"That's messed up." Hans shook his head.

"Okay what the heck is going on?" Pat demanded.

"Can't you Nintendo guys do something?" Maple asked the Smash Brothers. It's your job to save the world y'know!"

Jace regained his strength, "Guys…!" he shouted out but the group continued to talk over one another, bombarding him with all kinds of questions. Quickly he noticed more media crew and the NYPD coming toward them, seeking answers from witnesses.

Jace turned to Hunt, "Look man, I can't talk now, all right?" he exclaimed, "I'll explain everything when the time's right. But right now I gotta get to Jenn!" And once again he was off.

"And what?" Hunt shouted out as Jace vanished into the crowded streets of New York, "Leave us hangin'?"

"I want my daughter back, Jace!" Dr. Dimentio cried out.

Flashes of cameras alerted the group that the media and crew has reached them and blocked their way. Now they were the ones getting bombarded with questions.

"Mr. Dimentio, sir! Tell us...!"

"What's happening with Nintendo right now...?"

"Care to comment on the Mega DK!"

"Where is that robot going?"

"Please share!"

"Mario, do the jump!"

"Luigi, do the frightened cry!"

"Fox, do the Barrel Roll!"

"GRRRAAAAAAWWWWL!"

Falco screamed as he unleashed a powerful force that quickly sent the media, the police, and everyone else except the Smash Brothers flying off the curbs.

Falco angrily approached a reporter on the ground, grabbed the microphone and pointed, "You want a barrel roll? Here's a barrel roll for ya!" Falco turned around and was about to shove his pants down when Fox grabbed him by the arm. "HEEY!"

"No time for _your_ barrel roll, buddy! Let's roll!" Fox commanded and the Nintendo characters took off running after Jace. More camera flashed up and some reporters got up their feet and still went after them.

xXx

**Empire State Building**

Jace skidded to a full stop, the scuffing sound of his shoes shrieked across the Empire State Building's interior. The inside of the building was beautiful, its golden walls illuminated by its faint lights, and the two American flags perfectly framed the Building's designed portrait carved in fine gold and metal.

The panicked teen looked around and over the crowded tourists who were minding their own business.

"Hey yo! Ev'ryone! Can I have your attention please?"

All heads turned to Jace's attention and silence befell on them.

"Have you guys seen a giant gorilla about 10-foot, yea big?"

The beautiful Empire's portrait suddenly crumbled down to rocks and dirts, and everyone ran out of the way screaming at the sight of the Mega Donkey Kong, grasping hard on the panicked Jenn. Jace stood there, in fear and awe of the giant casting its shadow upon him and everyone else.

"Found it!" he muttered.

"JAAAAAAACEE!" Jenn was screaming through to top of her lungs, wiggling and trying to break free from the colossal gorilla's grasp. The dispersed crowd got out the door and into the streets away from the menacing giant that was pounding on its chest nefariously.

"Just hang on, Jenn! I'm gonna save you!" Jace shouted.

"YOU BETTER OR I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS!" Jenn yelped before screaming high again.

The Mega DK shifted to its left and crossed the hall. Jace peered across the evacuating hall and noticed a coat rack. What would a coat rack be doing in the middle of the Empire State Lobby? He didn't know and didn't care. He went for it, grabbed it and ran toward the menacing creature.

"HEY! Monkey Breath!"

The Mega DK shifted its head toward Jace.

"EAT THIS!" Jace swung the coat rack, aiming for the leg. But the coat rack bended on contact. Jace stared at the broken metal then at the gorilla, eyelids raised.

"JAAAACE!" Jenn screamed just as the giant beast swung its arm across him. A heavy blow landed on his entire left side as he sped headlong through a wall, crushing his neck and spine onto it. His vision flashed violently red before his limped body toppled on the silk floor. Crumbled rocks and dirts pelted him at the impact and he immediately blacked out.

"NOOOO!" Jenn screamed for her buried cousin under the pile of rocks. She struggled to break free but her colossal captor tightened its grip. She squealed at the cracking sound of her bones. The Mega Kong proceeded for an elevator and threw a fist through its sliding doors and briefly watched its occupants flee in tears at its sight. The menace got inside and thrust another fist in the air, forcing the elevator to take flight.

Right at that moment, Fox, Falco, Mario and Luigi showed up.

"Mamamia, where is he?" Luigi asked, looking around for Jace and unsure of whether or not this is a good idea to face a massive Kong.

"He's-a gotta be here somewhere." Mario said, his face instead of his brother's was tightened with determination to defeat the gorilla.

"Allright, boy!" Falco shouted, "Where are you?"

Jace let out a faint painful sound, letting the Nintendo characters know that he was under the pile of rocks besides them. They ran to him and quickly dug through the pile. As the others did all the digging Mario and Luigi dragged Jace's battered body out of the rumbles, loose gravel embedded itself to his flesh. Jace winced in pain.

"All right Jace." Fox crossed his arms with an amused visage, "Do you _really_ think now is time for you to be sleeping in on the job?"

Jace who was fighting for his breath could only throw a cold glance at Fox. Fox's smirk slowly faded, "No?" he shook his head, "okay."

"Don't-a worry, Jace." Mario said to him, "You stay still! While the StarFox Team and I deal with the mega giant and rescue your princess!"

"Let's achieve that mission folks!" Fox said out loud and the characters took off in haste.

"You all go ahead." Luigi said, trailing behind, "I'm-a staying here, taking-a good care of Jace. I'm-a not a fight—!"

Fox, Falco and Mario were already up to the fire escape stairs, completely ignoring Luigi, "…ohh, okay." Luigi went on, "…y-you go do that!"

Jace stretched out to them, "G-Guys… wait—!" He hissed, shutting his eyes tightly in pain. His dislocated legs trembled and his right arm and shoulder were throbbing, "…Aahh!"

"Hey, hey, HEY! No-no time-a to whine!" Luigi argued.

"But…" he winced, "…ahh… but I can't stay here… man!" Jace argued, "Jenn needs me!" he huffed, "…ohh man, I'm in so much pain."

Luigi escorted the limping Jace to a sit, "Don't-a worry about it." Luigi massaged Jace's leg, " _Mi fratello_ and the others will-a deal with the menace terrorizing the city right now."

He twisted the legs, then his spine and shoulders, each causing a cracking sound. Jace yowled but he suddenly felt fine again. He blinked in surprise.

"And here." Luigi opened the palm of his hands to reveal a 1UP Mushroom. "Eat this. You'll feel better."

Jace picked up the mushroom and took a bite. The 1UP tune echoed in the hall and his eyes flew wide open, suddenly feeling energized.

"Whoa." he tossed the rest of the mushroom over his shoulder, "I feel better already!"

"Hey don't waste it!" Luigi ran for the mushroom.

"Taste sugary. Like Eureopean candy... or caffeine." Jace wondered at the taste of that 1UP Mushroom. No wonder it was an important item. Luigi returned to his side.

"You rest!" He said, "While I get to stay danger-free! It's-a win-win, thank you very much! A win-win!"

Jace briefly glanced back at Luigi before sighing in defeat, "You're right."

Luigi smiled, "Good."

But then Jace briefly turned to him, as if he had an idea, "You still have your Poltergeist 3000 vacuum cleaner right? This place needs to get cleaned up if you know what I mean."

"Hmm?" Luigi blinked. "Ohhhh yeah!" Luigi pulled up from his back, as if by cartoon magic, his vacuum. "The Poltergeist 3000. Now with 3G technology. Check out this-a baby! It's-a my latest version."

Jace took the vacuum from Luigi's hands and briefly admired it. A faint smirk appeared on his lips, "Beautiful."

Jace flicked the On-switch and aimed the vacuum tube at Luigi. A powerful gust of wind started pulling him off his feet and everything else in his path.

"H…hey what are you…? HEEEEYY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Luigi screamed through the wailing of the machine.

"Sorry to disappoint you buddy, but I'm trying to save a life here!" Jace exclaimed.

"DON'T YOU MEAN SUCK A LIFE?! STOP IT! THAT VAC AIN'T A TOY! STOOOHHP!"

The Poltergeist yanked Luigi off balance and gulped him whole inside. Jace dropped the machine, "Sorry buddy, but I gotta go." He took off running for the stairs. Luigi screamed from inside the vacuum, "HEEEEY! So I relocate your limbs and this is how you repay me? LET ME OUTTA HERE PAL! YOU OWE ME A MEDICAL BILL!"

Jace crossed three… five… seven floors up, and once again he was losing his breath. He was inches to the eighth floor when a Wire Frame warped before him and swung a spin hook kick at him. Jace bent back, avoiding the strike but almost lost his balance, "Whoa!" He grabbed on the stairs railing to break his fall with one hand but swung a punch at the Wire Frame with the other. The Wire Frame flew headlong over the railing, plummeting to its death.

Another Wire Frame descended before Jace and holding on the railings leapt and pounded a double-kick on the Wire Frame's chest, sending it to a wall. The Wire Frame slipped to the ground. Jace climbed the last two steps of the stairs and threw another punch. The Wire Frame retaliated, blocking the punch with one free hand and twisted Jace's arm. Jace yowled, finding himself at its mercy with his back before it.

The Wire Frame slammed its palm on Jace's right shoulder and pressed him down on his knees. Jace's vision blurred again. Another Wire Frame, a female one, descended before him and seized her chance. She pounded on his chest, one time, two times to six times too many. Jace arched, his legs trembled and his eyes rolled up.

The Female Wire Frame tightened her grip and was ready to swing the final blow when a bright ray of light poured on the gang. The Wire Frames watched a magical portal opening up before them and saw Pit skidding to a brief stop before leaping out of the portal.

"Sorry to keep y'all waiting!" he shouted as he came headlong to the Wire Frames with his twin swords on hand. He ran his weapons through the Female Wire Frame and she vanished in a million digital lights. Jace seized his chance. With one free arm he connected an elbow blow to the Male Wire Frame's stomach. The Wire Frame let go off Jace and arched backward, hissing. The freed Jace turned around and tossed a Roundhouse Kick. The Wire Frame vanished on contact in million digital lights. Jace stumbled back in recoil.

Jace turned to Pit, exhausted and wincing. The pain wasn't going away. "Phew…th-thanks, bud—!" his eyes shut again and he cried out, "Aaah!" he lay a hand on his right shoulder and sulked to the ground.

The cheerful Pit winced, "Ohh man…" he approached Jace, "Look at you and all of your wounds. You sure you're gonna make it?"

"Dude…" Jace's vision blurred, "Ahh… don't worry about me…" he gasped, "Jenn needs me…"

"Say no more."

Pit laid hand on Jace's forehead and a shimmering warm light tingled all over his body. Before Jace knew it he felt no pain, his visions no longer blurring and his wounds were completely closed up. He stood back up.

Pit smiled, "How you feeling now?"

Jace examined his shirt, his pants, his skins… everything was back anew again. He turned to Pit, "I feel… I feel great!" a wide smile spread across his face, "Thanks man! I'm all new again!"

"That's what we're here for!"

Loud steps were heard closing in. The alerted Jace and Pit turned to face Luigi, breathless and out of shape. He struggled to the last steps and went on his knees, sweat pouring on his forehead.

"Luigi?!" Pit and Jace exclaimed together.

"Dude, how did you escape your vac?" Jace asked.

Luigi moved his limped arm toward the teen, attempting to point. "Sh-shut… up!" he gasped, "You… are not… allowed… to get in t…t…trouble…!"

"Yeah, yeah. We'll talk later. Now there's no time!" Jace grabbed Luigi and swung one arm over his shoulder for support. Pit does the same.

"A princess is in distress and she needs saving!" Pit said.

"Appreciate the gesture, but Jenn ain't a princess." Jace replied.

Pit and Luigi looked on puzzlingly at Jace, "Maiden?" Pit asked.

"Not even close."

They went through the door of the eighth floor and the gang suddenly found themselves inside an exquisite temple. The floor was marred with a silver and dark-brown laminate framing a fine large mirror glass, reflecting the bright sunlight that poured through the many windows and a skylight covering its ancient walls. Torches were at each corner of the new scenery, surrounding it with its burning light, quiet and undisturbed. Jace looked to his left and noticed an ancient door with the Triforce right above its rim. He immediately recognized that temple.

"The Temple of Time?"

Pit and Luigi whizzed toward him, "Huh?" they said.

Jace returned their gazes, "What the hell am I doing here in the Temple of Time and not the Empire State Building?"

A loud crash rocked the entire temple. Jace, Pit and Luigi felt their hearts jumped out of their skins as they watched a billow of rocks and debris rained before them and a massive spider the size of a house hissed before them also. Its strident squeal rang their ears temporarily deaf and shattered the windows into thousand bits.

"Ay mamiiiia!" Luigi jumped behind Jace in hiding.

"What the heck is that?!" Jace shouted.

"That's a m-m-m-m-monster!" Pit shouted.

The spider closed in on them.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

xXx

_We're interrupt this program to give you breaking news on the Battle of New York coverage, as witnesses and our camera crew via Air-8 just caught a glimpse of a giant Donkey Kong perched on top of the Empire State Building, carrying with him an innocent young girl. That girl is identified as 18-year old Jennifer Dimentio. Little is known about Ms. Dimentio right now but she is in need of some serious help. The Police and the SWAT teams via helicopters are reported to be on their way to stop this colossal menace._

xXx

The Mega Donkey Kong's colossal size spread across the city skies from atop the Empire State Building. Dozens of enforcers' team on helicopters came at him like bees to a honey comb, and all attempted to bombard the colossal gorilla with their bullets. The gorilla barely felt the shots like pathetic pinches. With the screaming Jenn in tow, he angrily swung its massive arms and twirled like a propeller, sending the helicopters skyhigh. Jenn groaned, dots swirling over her dizzy vision.

Citizens of New York watched the gorilla causing terror. Tablets, cameras and smartphones flashed across the streets, capturing any pictures and footages possible. The entire scene felt like a parody to a King Kong movie scene. Both terrifying and entertaining.

"Is it not beautiful how innovations these days are always engaging our customers?" Stefano cooed, marveling over the chaotic scenario as he was surrounded by thousand of reporters and presses before him.

Dr. Dimentio whizzed his angry head at him. "You're talking about innovation?" all microphones and cameras turned to the angry doctor, "My daughter is up there TERRIFIED for her life!"

"Oh Signore Dimentio, please spare us the drama." The Signore threw a dismissive hand. All microphones turned back to the Signore, "Your daughter is gonna be just fine and in really good hands." he reassuringly said, "But as for your nephew…" he chuckled slightly, "…well… just be thankful that he's a strong athlete and an acrobat."

The reporters once again bombarded the Signore with all kinds of questions, "Signore Vermichello? What are you saying? Is that young man Jace the thief?" "What are the criminal charges against him?" "What's gonna be his fate?" "Are you saying that he's not gonna make it?"

The Signore was already distance from the chaos of the mega Kong, but the reporters didn't give up and followed him for further inquiries.

Dimentio stared back up at the gorilla, "Okay, _this_…is a disaster…"

"Wait…" Patricia furrowed her brow, "What?"

"Wait," Maple grabbed Hunt's shoulder, directing his attention toward her, "That Jace guy is the thief?" she asked him, "The one who stole that Nintendo 3DS Smash Edition? Is he really your friend?"

Hunt looked like a frozen deer before squinting and forcing a smile, "I dunno what you talking about! Who's friend? Never heard about him before in my life! HEY LOOK! Big monkey!"

"Boy, stop playin'!" Pat complained, "We ALL know there's a big monkey here and we all know that there's—!"

Hunt took off into the building.

"H-HEEY!" Pat screamed.

"He's running away!" Maple screamed as well. "Stop him!"

Hunt skidded before policemen, firemen and medical units blocking the building entry. One police officer approached Hunt, "Hey!" he shouted, but Hunt didn't stop approaching, "What are you doing kid? This is a no-crossing—!"

"YAAH!" Hunt struck a blow to the officer's chest. "OOOH!" the crowd hissed, witnessing the officer hunched forward with a sharp gasp.

"AYYY—!" He then grabbed the officer by the arm and swung him over his shoulder to the concrete street, WAA!"

"AAOHHH!" the crowd gasped once again.

Hunt took off into the building and immediately more police officers and SWAT teams ran back inside in his pursuit before the downed officer could sharply blow his whistle. Their feet thundered the ground like a drum, and the crowd cheerful cries filled the blocked street.

A great gasp of commotion followed from the crowd as they all watched Arwings making their approach toward the Giant DK. the Arwings somehow came out of nowhere, like randomly planes soaring over the city skies.

The Mega DK once again swung his arm over the Arwing, but the aircrafts dodged the attack.

"Are you all ready gentlemen?" Fox asked over his Bluetooth headset.

"Super ready!" Falco replied.

Mario said nothing. He was on top of Falco's Arwing maintaining balance and his focus on the Mega DK. Mega DK fixed his eyes toward Falco and Mario charging toward him.

"HEEELP!" Jenn screamed at their sight.

Mario leapt off the Arwing. The Arwing charged straight for the Mega DK who got distracted by Mario's move. The Arwing impaled through the Mega DK's left eye and through his skull it went. The gorilla roared sharply, jolting sparks flew off its damaged eye like they were blood. The Mega DK covered one hand over the damaged eye, but still did not let go off Jenn. Falco escaped the explosion and flew down in parachute.

"Your turn, Mario!" the falcon shouted.

Mario was still airborne, heading for the building's sharp peak. He spread his arms out wide and a golden cape streamed out from his overall's neck. The super plumber took flight in his new adorned cape and went toward the Mega DK again. The crowd below cheered out loud.

More reporters and news crew came to the scene. "What did we miss? What did we miss?" One female reporter shouted over the cheering crowd, trying hard to run on her high heel but doing her best not to break them.

"This is amazing!" one of the MSNBC news reporter replied, "You should have seen it! One of these Nintendo aircraft flew right into that mega gorilla's eyes and now Mario is airborne, flying over Donkey Kong like a dizzy bird! This is epic!"

"THIS IS NOT EPIC!" Dr. Dimentio screamed at the reporters, "My daughter is in there! And so is my nephew!" he looked back up with his hands clasped together, "Ohh come on Jace. You have to save my daughter and yourself."

xXx

The spider moved toward the trio at swift speed. They spread out, jumping out of the spider's way. The spider then fixed its attention toward Jace and went at him. Jace went for the stairs, leading up to a dark corridor. He turned around just as the spider brought down its two front legs at him. The impact forced an explosion of rocks and debris to fly out across the Temple and forced Jace to lose his balance and fall back. The terrified Jace was on the ground, gazing at the creature. It raised its legs upward once more. Jace quickly grabbed a stone next to him and flung it at the spider.

The spider staggered back but came charging again with another leg swing. Jace rolled out of the way and quickly got on his feet. The spider pursued him again with more leg attacks, but Jace continued to bob and weave.

"Guys, a little help here?!" he shouted.

"What do you think we're doing?!" Pit shouted, hovering over the spider and unsuccessfully pelting its hairy back with his gunblade. "It's not even dying! Why can't he die?"

The spider continued its assault on Jace and Jace continued to dodge its attack, until he felt the cold window on his back. He was trapped. The spider hissed, raising one more time its leg for another thrust.

"AAAAH!"

The spider suddenly hissed as it felt a blast of pain to its side. Jace and Pit watched Luigi's head connecting on the spider like a launching missile and sent the spider flying to a nearby wall. Blood spewed out of its abdomen, the color of mucus, and splashed before Luigi who just landed on the mirror floor.

"Ewwww…!" Luigi danced on his toes and flapped his hands in disgust, "Spider puke! Spider puke!" he took off, "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" He quickly stood by a corner of the Temple.

"Seriously Luigi!" Pit and Jace exclaimed.

"HEYY! I don't-a do well with blood!" Luigi whined, "They're-a making me queasy!"

"Oh Luigi, give me a break." Jace grinned, "You need to stop acting all weak and take action here."

A reddish aura suddenly began to extract from Jace's body. He stared about, feeling uneasy all of the sudden. Luigi and Pit both cringed uncomfortably. "Uh-oh."

"What's happening?" Luigi asked, already knowing the answer won't be a pretty one.

"Uhh…" Pit drawled, "I don't know what you talking about?" he whizzed his attention away from Jace and Luigi and quickly walked away.

"What?" Jace fast-walked toward Pit, but he suddenly grew tired and his posture slowly shifted. Luigi was already ahead of Jace, pursuing Pit, "All right, Angel of Skyworld! What did you do to Jace?"

Pit stopped walking, turning eerily calm. He turned to Luigi, cringing, "I may have… done a little bit of angel magic on Jace… nothing special."

Luigi's jaws dropped, "What?!"

"It was only for a short period!" Pit exclaimed, "And he needed help and he—! Well, now…!"

Pit and Luigi slowly looked over to Jace. Jace was now covered in his old wounds. He gasped sharply at the horrendous infected sight.

"His five minutes are up." Pit finished.

Jace turned to Pit, "You can only maintain your healing powers for five minutes?!"

"Well, look who is-a weakling now." Luigi taunted.

A thunderous shake of the ground caught their attentions. The massive spider struggled back to its legs and steadied itself.

"And now the beast is alive!" Pit muttered.

The spider hissed and charged at the characters. Luigi and Pit jumped out of the way at the last minute and watched the spider send Jace soaring to the wall. Jace cried out as his spine shattered, and he went onto his stomach.

"JACE!" the two characters cried out. Jace slowly rolled over to his back. All of his muscles burned from that single effort.

Pit summoned his cannon and went for the spider. Luigi summoned his vacuum and followed.

"You're going down, freak of nature!" Pit aimed his weapon.

"YEAAH!" Luigi barked as well. Pit fired multiple shots from his cannon. Luigi turned on his vac and its powerful suction dragged the spider across the silk mirror floor, making its hair stand up. Blasts of Pit's cannon pelted its hairy back but the spider didn't flinch.

The spider pulled itself free from the suction and swung its two legs at the two characters. They went flying across the chamber and landed hard, unconscious.

"NO!" Jace tried to roll over to his stomach, spring to his feet and run for his comrades; but the spider dropped its front leg to Jace's chest, the sharp hairs on it pierced through him like a thousand needles. An agonizing cry escaped Jace. He groaned, breathing heavily and unable to move.

He grabbed the creature's leg, more of the leg hairs buried through his palms. But he didn't care. He had to escape the creature's grasp before it killed him. With all his exhausted force he tried pushing hard on the creature, only to push its leg barely two feet. The spider hissed again, its head lifted to the skylight before fixating its eight eyes at its victim before it. It charged. Jace screamed.

…then out of the blue a shining steel viciously snapped across the creature's legs, and the spider's green blood jetted from the wounds across the Temple and staining Jace's clothes. The creature wailed, on its hind legs before landing with a thunderous tremor. Jace composed himself before turning to the swordsman in a green tunic who just slain the monster.

"Link?" he let out a heavy sigh before coming up to his feet.

Link flashed and twirled his sword in the air before striking a pose. Navi, the shining fairy glimmered besides him. "Aye."

Navi glided toward Jace and swirled over his battered body, trailing behind sparkly dusts. The dusts stung on his wounds like salt, but they magically closed them up and rejuvenated his form again.

"Do not worry anymore. You are completely rejuvenated."

"Oh my gosh, thank you. Thank you… thank you!" He grabbed Navi, kissed her hard, then pulled a startled Link into a firm tight hug. "Ohh man, I love you so much guys! You just saved my life!"

"Okay, I'm getting uncomfortable." Link muttered. Jace released his grip.

Link looked over Jace's shoulder, "Go. Now." He pointed him the way, "Up the stairs to your maiden!"

"W-wait, what about you?" Jace asked, "And Pit and Luigi?"

Link noticed Pit and Luigi unconscious and seeing stars to the corner of the temple. "I'll deal with them." He turned back to Jace, "Now go to your maiden, White Knight, and save the world!"

"You the man, man!" Jace said, pointing his two fingers forward him, "And you too Navi!" he took off.

"Make sure you come back in one piece!" Link shouted.

Jace crossed over the hallway. He was now at another empty chamber of the Empire State Building closer to the balcony. Jace froze up, briefly looked back to see the dark tunnel, then went on.

Jace broke through the door, ending up on the building's rooftop. He could hear the crowd cheering wildly from below as if there was a mass protest. Helicopters and Arwings hovered before him. But the biggest sight he didn't fail to miss was the giant Donkey Kong, perched on the building with Jenn at his grasp.

"Jenn!" he cried out for her.

Jenn blinked at the call of her name. She knew it was Jace who came for him. She looked down but the grasp of the giant Donkey Kong blocked her view. "Jace... help!" she shouted anyway.

The giant DK turned to Jace's attention, a powerful steam shot out of his nostrils. Jace lingered toward the creature, "You'll never gonna get away with this, you big mon—!"

Jace got cut off when a heavy force swept him off the ground and into the sky over the giant creature, "—KEEEEEEY!"

He felt someone grasping on his collar. He looked up and there was Mario, soaring above him, "Hiya, Jace! Came to party?"

Jace stared at Mario, bug-eyed. He slowly looked down, suspended over a thousand feet in the air above the city. His face blanched, "Aahhh! Don't let me go! Don't let me go! Don't let me go!"

"Mamamia! Why would I let-a you go?" Mario exclaimed, "I wasn't stupid before!"

"What are you doing man?!" Jace cried out.

Maple watched Mario and Jace soaring around the giant Donkey Kong, "Oh my gosh! It's Jace!" she screamed and everyone in the city exclaimed in agreement. "With Mario!"

"It sure is." Hans replied.

"Boy, that man better give me Mario's autograph," Pat complained, "or I swear—!"

A pillar of light shot besides the group to reveal a sliding glass door, startling half of the crowd in the area. The glass door slid open and out of it came Samus in her Zero Suit, followed by Peach and Toad. The crowd gazed in awe of the vixen beauty, the princess and the Mushroom boy before them, with widened eyes and smiles. Maple and Pat's jaws hanged open, slapping each other ecstatically in their hands and not trying to scream.

Peach and Toad saluted the audience, but Samus ignored the arousing crowd and the flashes and clicks of cameras and cellphones, "Where is Jace?" she asked the frantic doctor Dimentio.

"Where do you think?" Dimentio pointed her up the sky. She looked up, spotting Mario and Jace, still hovering and taunting the gorilla. Peach and Toad gasped. Samus' brow rose slightly. "Oh boy…" she sighed.

"Mario! Be careful!" Peach pleaded.

"You can do it Mario!" Toad shouted.

Mario and Jace still made circles around the Mega DK.

"Okaaay, what is the point of doing this Mario?" Jace exclaimed, "We've been soaring above that massive Donkey Kong for hours! And I'm getting airsick here!"

Mario went for the landing, "Just-a hold on!" The duo screamed, heading straight for the large Kong.

Hunt reached the building's rooftop, "WHOAAA!" he jumped back, aghast by the Mega DK's colossal's presence before him. "Oh my gosh! That's one massive creep!"

A thud caught Hunt's attention. He saw Falco who just landed on his knees with the parachute on his back. He looked back at Hunt, "Oh, so you think?" he said.

Hunt stared at Falco momentarily and formed a goofy grin. "Heeeheeheeheeheeheeheehee…" he waved with his squeezed shoulders to his neck, "…hi…!" his eyes rolled up and fell on the ground, unconscious. Falco blinked.

"GRAAAAAAWWWL!" Mega DK growled again, glaring its one good eye at Mario and Jace heading straight for him. With one ferocious roar, he tossed Jenn over his shoulder. "HAAAAA!" Jenn screamed, plummeting a thousand feet. Jace and Mario panicked. The whole city cried out at that horrific sight.

"JENNY NOOOO!" Jace screamed.

"GO AFTER HER!" Mario exclaimed.

"WHA—! WAI—!"

Mario let go off Jace. Jace screamed, following Jenn as they plummeted.

Mega DK formed a fist, stretched it back and swung at Mario. Mario went right past the fist and went straight into the Kong's other eye. The DK painfully roared, swinging his arms back, trying to keep momentum. He lost balance and went for the landing. His weight went right past Jace and Jenn in the air. The crowd dispersed out of the way, screaming as all three falling beings were getting closer and closer to the earth.

"IDON'TWANNADIE! IDON'TWANNADIE! IDON'TWANNADIE!" Jenn squealed.

"TUMMOOOOORRR!" Jace screamed.

"Now's your chance, Fox!" Falco barked through the Bluetooth.

"I'm on it!" Fox replied from his Arwing. The aircraft went for the three falling beings and fixed its target at the Mega DK. The Arwing fired a bullet at the Mega DK and a massive explosion engulfed the creature, shocking the air and almost taking the city off balance.

The Arwing then went for Jace and Jenn and they fell right for the passenger's seats from the roof. The duo looked around, sweating and trembling from this terrifying experience.

"How ya doing out there?" Fox gloated, "Having fun?"

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Jenn screamed, tears literally coursed through her eyes, "I WAS ALMOST TURNED INTO A SQUISHY BANANA OUT THERE!"

Jace chuckled briefly. Jenn noticed and slapped his shoulder hard, "OW!"

"STOP LAUGHING!"

"Hey, forgive me for trying to save you!" Jace exclaimed, "…and that hurts."

"I'm sorry, it's just that…!" Jenn's lips quivered and her eyes watered again. Bawling she wrapped herself to Jace. Jace winced, his bones were still stiffed in pain, "…ngh…ow…" he glanced back at Fox with a faint smile, "…thanks Fox."

Fox winked.

The Arwing soared over the city. The crowd cheered on over the defeat of Mega DK. It felt like a celebration.

The Signore wrapped his arm around Dimentio, "Now you see, doctor Dimentio. Everybody's safe, everybody's happy, and everybody's entertained. Now that's what we call entertainment. Better than the LG 3D Mapping Show in Berlin, wouldn't you say? We shall do this again sometimes."

"There's nothing entertaining about the dangers my kids got put through, Stefano." Dr. Dimentio hissed.

"Except when it comes to entertainment." The Signore patted Dimentio affectively on the chest, "Now remember that…" he closed in on the doctor and threateningly furrowed his brow, "…the next time your kids try to harm my company."

He turned on his heels and left, half of the reporters followed him while the other half stuck around. Dimentio watched him disappear into the crowd, so was Samus.

"A worthy opponent I must say." Samus said.

"He's not the only one." Dimentio narrowed his eyes, "Trust me, he's not."

xXx

"_And once again, we've been given a fantastic performance by the Nintendo characters of Super Smash Bros. 3DS on top of the Empire State Building! It was Mario vs. Donkey Kong, King-Kong style, which featured the Starfox team of Fox Mc. Cloud and Falco Lombardi! And you would NOT believe who was part of this whole ordeal! Two young kids by the name of Jacen Riders and Jennifer Dimentio, who apparently are also part of the Nintendo company. A fantastic viral marketing show it was, it felt oh-so real! It was terrifying! We'll give you more in-depth coverage on what went down in Manhattan on our latest news update!"_

Noir Deroi flicked off the TV with the remote. He was sitting on an expensive chesterfield with his feet resting on a glass table with some magazines on one corner, and a glass of wine on the other side.

"I'll tell you this, kid." Ganondorf spoke, staring over the city from inside an expensive penthouse with top-to-bottom glass windows, "The next time you want to nail a thief… or someone who is hindering our dominating advancement, you'll need to earn more evil willpower."

He turned around and passed by Mewtwo, floating over the kitchen countertop while charging his Shadow Ball in deep concentration. He joined Bowser and Dedede who were standing behind Noir on the chesterfield.

"Ever since we've left our world to pursue the one with the 3 rd Dimentional Screen," he said, "we've been nothing but successful."

"You think?" Dedede barked. "We've lost half of our group since we got here," he glowered at Noir, "and we have to settle with a lowlife like you!"

Ganondorf clutched Dedede's throat. The Dreamland king gasped.

"Hush… little birdie." He slowly let go off the king's throat and walked past Bowser, "…I know you're frustrated. We're _all_ frustrated. But you know what we need?" he stepped in front of the TV and faced Noir, "…we need victory. Absolute victory and control over the dimensions."

Ganondorf rest his palms on the coffee table, lingering at the silent Noir, "And you… want absolute respect. From anybody. From anywhere. From the one who never gained your respect. Isn't that right, kid?"

Noir slowly gazed back at Ganondorf. Most teens his age would've been either amazed or terrified by the Nintendo villains' presence. But his idea wasn't even there. It was on something else. Something personal. Something he actually wanted in his life but he never got. And Ganondorf was tampering on it with his taunting voice, causing his frown to deepen, his fists to tighten under his crossed arms, and his teeth to clench under his puckered lip.

With a furious jolt, he shoved the glass table at Ganondorf with one foot. Ganondorf descended his boot on the table, shattering it before it could strike his limb. Ganondorf smiled in response to Noir's anger. Noir didn't bother to even form a smirk.

"So you're in." Ganondorf chuckled.

xXx

New York University Hospital. Jace was on a wheelchair, sporting a hospital gown over his bandages crisscrossing his bare chest and around his arm, which was also hooked to an IV fluid. He cast a glance at Jenn who came through the door from the far left side of the room. Jenn too was on her hospital gown, but she wasn't on a wheelchair nor was she hooked on an IV fluid. The two cousins exchanged a smile.

"Hey." Jenn quietly closed the door behind her and approached, "How are you feeling?"

Jace shrugged, "I'm a'ight. Yourself?"

"The doctors might discharge me today." Jenn announced.

Jace's face lit up at the news, "That's great!" he put down the Nintendo 3DS he was holding on the bed next to him.

"Yeah but…" Jenn looked solemn, "…I kinda wish that we would've gone home together, y'know."

"Hey don't feel bad." Jace said, "It's not your fault."

"Yeah, I know." Jenn tried to scowl, but couldn't stop smiling, "It is your fault. Hope that'll teach you a lesson about stealing."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Yeah, like I've learned my lesson."

The two cousins laughed.

Jenn's smile faded once more, "Ohh, Jace." She knelt down before him and gently laid hands on his, "I can't believe you actually went through all of this trouble just to rescue me. I mean…" she sighed, "…you could've died out there. If I was a bit more careful…" she sighed, unable to continue on when she saw Jace's eyes twinkling. Seeing that made her smile again. "…you're like a brother to me."

Jace briefly looked down bashfully, his lips turned up in a smile.

"…and I wouldn't want anything bad happen to you."

Jace looked back at Jenn. He cupped one hand on top of hers, "Jenn, you're not like a sister. You're _my_ sister. And I bet you would do the same for me if I was in trouble."

Jenn quickly shook her head, "Uh-uh. No. Too much trauma." She laughed and so did Jace.

Hunt slowly peeked into the room and knocked on the door. Jace and Jenn looked up.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Oh no, not at all." The two teens said. Jenn stood up and gave Jace one last look, "Don't keep me waiting."

"You know I won't." Jace replied.

Jenn left the room, leaving the two friends alone. Hunt shuffled his hands down his pockets and raised his shoulders up. He appeared nervous. "So…" he paused, "It… uhh… looks like you're feeling better." He tried to smile but couldn't.

Jace wasn't smiling at all. His eyes were instead filled with guilt. "All right." He sighed, beckoning with his two hands, "Lay it on me."

Hunt frowned, "Excuse me?"

"Look, what I did to you was wrong. Okay? I lied to you, and I'm sorry." Jace said, "So." He slowly stood up from his wheelchair, still wincing in pain, "how about…" he straightened, "…you give me your best shot?"

Hunt's eyes narrowed, "I'm not gonna punch you!"

"There you…!" Jace quickly looked back at Hunt, "…wait? What?"

Hunt chuckled, "Dude, I'm not gonna punch you. And especially in your condition."

Jace blinked. He slowly sat back to his chair, "Ohh…kay…"

"If I knew that the Nintendo 3DS you have stolen was a magical one and for some reason, you managed to bring out the Super Smash Bros. Nintendo characters to life…" he paused, "…well at first I wouldn't have believed you… but OHMYGOSH!"

"Wait! So you're not mad?!"

"Mad?!" Hunt exclaimed, laughing out loud, "I could just kiss you for making my dream come true, you troublemaking _baka_!" he closed in on his best friend but quickly backed away, "…but I'm not gonna do that, 'cause you're all hurt and that would… ahem… that would be weird."

"Yeah…! Totally weird." Jace muttered, "…Does anyone else know?"

Hunt stopped smiling. "Well… Pat and Maple know. And that Hans guy, and the police officer I punched…"

Jace arched forward, bug-eyed. Hunt nodded with a regretful scowl. "Yeah… went a little wild with my kung-fu. He now requires surgery."

"…you _punched_ a police officer?" Jace's hung mouth slowly ebbed into a wide sinister smile, "Man! And I thought you were a wuss. You're HARDCORE!"

He leaned over to Hunt, "Can you do it again?"

"No." Hunt spat out, "Because of you, mister, I have to deal with either 64 hours of community service or spend one year in jail. And I am NOT spending 8,765 precious hours of my precious life in a jail cell with people who don't know how to wear their pants around their waist properly!"

Jace cocked his head on one side, "You're weird…"

Hunt went behind Jace and started pushing his wheelchair, escorting him out of the room, "…But c'mon! I wanna see it one more time!" Jace complained.

"No means no!"

"Just once!"

"Nyet!"

"At least a pinch!"

"Absolutely not!"

"You know I'm missing out right?"

"You won't be missing much if I deliver it to you!"

"No you won't."

"Yes I will."

"You really are a wuss."

"Stop it! I am NOT a man with low courage factor!"

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

Angry gorrillas are out to get Jace.

A fashion show at the Rockfeller Center is taken over by the Smash Bros... and Nergal.

Pat and Maple will help Link on his rescue mission for Zelda.

There's gonna be a wedding between a mortal and a Nintendo princess.

Warning! New Challenger Approaching!

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Monkey Business in 3D_


	5. Ep3:: Monkey Business in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Monkey Business in 3D_

* * *

**DK Jungle**

A group of large heavyweight Kongs was together under the sunset, hooting and cackling and enjoying each other company over a video game they were playing against each other on TV. But they were failing to pay attention to a shadow mask that just slipped into one of the windows.

The mask zipped past a flower vase on a pillar. The vase tipped over and landed on the ground in a thousand pieces. The Kongs whizzed their heads forward, spotting the intruders.

Kalimba Tiki stood there frozen, its distorted eyes gazing on the Kongs. The Kongs returned the stare; their hooting and cackling had turned into complete silence. Kalimba blinked and its distorted eyes started to twirl. Immediately the Tiki moved and swayed in the air, in rhythm to a hypnotic jingle.

Then in a split second, the Kongs turned violent, glasses shattered, drapes ripped off their hinges, wooden slab split in two, punches were flying and bleeding cries echoed in the jungle. Like they were beating each other senseless from within their once peaceful abode. Kalimba exited from whence it came, without a care in the world.

xXx

**New York City**

Nerfi 'Glyph' Peterson has held a good position at the local New York City Best Buy as Junior Manager, despite the fact that she's constantly late for work and keeps getting weird around her customers.

But just about 3 months ago; or shortly after Nintendo's shocking 3D viral marketing show known as the Smash Brothers' Battle in New York, her store has been getting some very… weird… strange customers lately. And for some reasons, she gets really… really… reeeeaaaally attached to them.

It came to a point where her managers thought they should let her go. Because who knows? She could be responsible for all other weird things that have been going on in the city, if not just in the store.

The desperate Glyph begged her managers a chance to prove them wrong. That she will turn this weirdness into a whole new level. A level that will make her lovable to them despite the many weirdnesses she'll throw at them.

So her managers gave her this assignment: seek out the other source of the weirdness: the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Plaza. So sporting her casual white T-shirt, blue jacket with rolled up sleeves, black belt and orange pants, her customized blue and white boots, she was off. Her ear-length ratty black hair with white streak on its sides was left exposed.

She entered the store, expecting the cheesy greetings of customer assistants and their boring mundane service that's supposed to make everyone's 'shopping' experience better.

But the moment she stepped into that store, she watched the Pokémon Mew, flying right past her and leaving a powerful gust of wind that mangled up her already messed-up hair. She watched him briefly soaring near the store's ceiling. She turned to her right and another powerful wind gust almost ripped off her clothing. Pit had just moved past her, chasing around Mew like an eagle after a flying mouse. She then watched Ness and Lucas running in pursuit, screaming as well.

Her attention slowly shifted from the chasers and she beheld the store, as chaotic as unexpected. Pokémon were flying around, loose across the store from the Pokémon Center. A multitude of Goldeens bounced around to and fro across the floors. Celebi, Jirachi and Manaphi zipped across the air, with lots of Staryus and a few Latios and Latias. There were some loose Bonslies, bouncy Electrodes, runaway Meowths, and some cute but crying Chicoritas, Blossoms and Togepis. Now THAT was weird.

Glyph couldn't take her eyes off the place. She glanced toward the Pokémon Center when she got nose-to-nose with Yoshi's big nose.

"AAAK!"

"What are-a you wasting time for?!" She startled at Luigi's frantic voice coming outta Yoshi's nose?! That was weird AND distorted!

A hand yanked her from where she stood and she was dragged across the first floor to the second by Luigi himself! Yoshi followed from behind.

"We need your help getting all those Pokémon in place before the store opens!" Luigi exclaimed.

"YOOOSH!" Yoshi cooed in agreement.

"Before the store opens?!" screamed Glyph.

"Yeah, just-a because we finally get to fit into this big massive city, doesn't mean we hafta be careless to—!" Luigi stopped, finally noticing the person he had just dragged on three floors across, "OH!"

He blushed, chuckling nervously and exchanging glances with a bashful Yoshi, "Heh-Heh-Heh… Sowwy."

"_Wuh-oh_." Yoshi muttered.

"Thought you were one of Jace's friends."

"_Jay fwend_." Yoshi articulated.

"Uhh…" Glyph was about to speak.

"LUIGI!" Pit was heard. The gang spotted him with Ness, Lucas and Kirby, all carrying sack of Pokeballs.

"Who's that?!" Ness exclaimed.

"Uh-oh." Kirby uttered.

Lucas cocked his head on one side, "Looks like a weird lady."

"No!" Pit panicked, "No customers before business hours!" Pit dropped the pokeballs down and flew right past Glyph and straight toward a silver glass pedestal on another floor. Something was hiding behind its glass. He quickly tapped some buttons on it.

"W-well… I… I… I'm-a sorry." Luigi stammered, "I thought that—!"

"Can somebody please tell me what's going on?" Glyph interrupted, "Am I dreaming?"

"Pit!" Now it was Fox who screamed. Glyph saw him with Link, "What are you doing?!"

"Wait, Pit!" Link shouted, " Don't access it! You don't know how to use it!"

The glass on the pedestal revealed the Nintendo 3DS! The magical 3DS also known as the 3rd Dimensional Screen. Pit jabbed his finger on the Home button. A bright light overwhelmed the top screen and a column of light shot out of it and struck Glyph, engulfing her into its blinding brightness. The light vanished and she was gone.

The whole store turned silent. The rest of the Pokémon who were running out of control finally got distracted by the 3DS and have now gathered around Pit, Kirby, Yoshi, Luigi, Lucas, Ness, Fox and Link. The characters all stared at Pit in utter shock… giving him that 'what did you do?' glare.

"_Wuh…ohhh_…" Yoshi uttered.

Jace came into the scene with Mario. The duo slowed down, puzzled at the sudden gathering.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jace asked, still smiling.

They only got an eerie silence in the store.

"Oh, come on guys, what did I miss?" Jace chuckled nervously. "It's not like we exposed the 3DS secret to _another_ person or something."

"Err… Jace?" Mario stepped forward and picked up one of Glyph's blue and white boot. He showed it to him. "Looks like you're wrong."

Jace stopped smiling. He took the boot from Mario and examined it. "Wh…" he turned to the gang, stammering, "wh…what happened?"

"SEEWHATYOUDID?!" Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Fox, Link, Kirby, even the loose Pokémon all screamed—though not in the same dialect—at Pit.

"I panicked, okay?!" Pit exclaimed.

xXx

-**Back at the Plaza**-

"Hey, girrrrrl!"

Jenn recognized that voice. She immediately whipped around. Her two best friends, Mel and Nina, were walking toward her from the hotel's reception desk. Nina, the Asian-African sported a sandy-colored Misses' blouse top with silk fabric, a silver belt around the waist with round-shaped buckle, ocean-blue dress pants and leather boots, knee-high. Mel, the Caucasian, had on a silver white v-neck with a silver sequin top over it, and jet-black skinny pants with skinny matching belt and boots with many straps. Mel was no longer blond, but sandy-haired.

"Heeeeey!" Jenn's smile widened.

"What's-a-crackin'-a-lackin', girrrrrrl!" Nina rolled her tongue.

"Whaaaaaat?" the girls rolled their tongues together; their annoying squeal caught the hotel's attention. They ended up giggling.

"Ohh, that never gets old." Jenn said, "I can't believe y'all here in New York!"

"Ehh…" Mel uttered, "Just visitin'."

"Soooo…" Nina articulated, "…Dish! Tell us… everything. 'Cuz you've been gone from Tokyo for like… everrr."

"Oh yeah!" Jenn recalled. She had been gone forever. The last time she met the girls was before she boarded the plane for New York in pursuit of Jace to retrieve that Smash Bros. limited edition 3DS. The girls sat together at a lounging area.

"I _have_ been gone forever." She said, "So, what happened was…!"

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Cute story." Nina rudely interrupted Jenn.

"…But I haven't started telling it yet."

"Yeah we know." Mel said before squealing, "But we couldn't _wait_ to share _our_ news!"

"See. We're having a party at the Rockefeller Center—a Fashion gala from the Tokyo Fashion Gala last year—and uhh… ahem… you're NOT invited." Nina said.

Jenn felt like she just got bitch-slapped in the face. "…wait, what?"

Mel leaned toward Jenn, "She said that we're having a party at the Rockefeller Center—a Fashion gala from the Tokyo Fashion Gala last year and you're NOT invi—!"

"I heard what she said!" Jenn hissed.

Mel recoiled, "Jeez… you don't have to be so mean."

"But girls!" Jenn glared back at a stone-faced Nina, "We _always_ go to parties together! We do stuffs together!"

"Yeah, but girl, it ain't my fault that you missed the Annual Tokyo Fashion Gala last year." Nina said, "We were supposed to be goin' together!"

"But I _did_ go with you guys for the Fashion Week kickoff!"

Nina clicked her tongue, "But that's too bad girl." She said unemotionally, "Even if we _could_ invite you, you still don't have V.I.P ticks. We all earned it at the gala for free. That is… _those_ who went for the gala got the ticks."

"I wanna get ticks too!" Jenn exclaimed, just in time for Hunt to hear her as he was coming to the lobby from the stairs. Hunt paused to listen, frowning at the word 'ticks'.

"Yeah, sorry." Mel gently put a hand on Jenn's shoulder, "It's all gone… well, not really _all_ gone. They still got ticks but they're like $20,000 expensive."

Jenn felt her jaws hit the floor.

"Anywaaay," Nina stood up and so did Mel, "We'll send you pics… having a _grand_ time."

Jenn's face fell and her lips quivered.

"Aww…" Nina stroke her hair, "…don't pout. There's always next year."

Jenn sighed, "Yeaaaah…"

"Well, byyye!" Nina waved her little fingers before flouncing out of the hotel. "See ya _never_!" Mel blew Jenn a haughty kiss and sauntered off.

"You mean _later!"_ Jenn shouted out.

With the coast now cleared off the perfume-toxic princesses, Hunt joined Jenn. He raised an eyebrow. "Ticks?"

Jenn rolled her eyes, "Short for tickets, smarty-pants." She stood up from the sofa, "I can't believe my two best friends are ditching me for that Fashion Gala at the Rockefeller Center! Shopping at the Concourse, partying on the top of the GE Building… skating at 75 Rock Plaza… I WANT THAT!"

"…but you don't have ticks." Hunt said.

"OF COURSE I DON'T HAVE TICKS!" she barked.

Jace barged in to the lobby. Hunt and Jenn caught sight of him and he caught sight of them. He scurried to them, "Guys, I need your help."

"If this is about the Smash Brothers messing up at something again, I'm not part of it." Hunt said.

Jace paused, "It's not about the Smash Brothers messing up at something again."

Hunt's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Noo…" Jace scoffed, "Look, if you don't want to help me, then I don't think I'll want to play _Mario Kart 7_ on the magical 3DS with you anytime soon. This week, we would've been racing across A Mirror version of Rainbow Road over the Statue of Liberty, and _actually_ fall into our death."

Hunt's eyes widened.

"Okay. Bad choice of words to excite people like you."

"BUT I WANT THAT!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Jace come on, what's the problem?!" Jenn exclaimed, shifting his focus back to the matter.

"Oh Right. The Smash Brothers." Jace said. Jenn rolled her eyes on cue, "I knew it."

"Just listen, a'ight? Some girl got into the Nintendo World Store and apparently saw the Smash Brothers there all trying to catch loose Pokémon."

"Okay. Jace…" Hunt patted his friend's shoulder, "The Nintendo characters can now fit in to New York City like the Muppets or the cast of Sesame Street. Sooo… not seeing the problem here."

"Pit had the magical 3DS with him and used it to send her into the Nintendo World."

Hunt and Jenn's eyes widened.

"Seeing the problem now, huh?" Jace joked.

"Oh this is bad. This is so bad." Jenn said, "Now that girl knows the true power of the 3DS."

"And now she'll realize that this whole Nintendo viral Marketing thing was a lie to cover this truth!" Hunt added. Jace nodded in agreement.

Jenn turned to Jace, "You have to find that girl inside the Nintendo World before she tells people about this!" Hunt nodded in agreement.

"Whoa-whoa, wait a sec." Jace stopped them the moment they turned to leave, "Why do _I_ have to do the dirty works all by m'self?

" Uhh… 'cuz you made me miss the Tokyo Fashion Gala last year and now my two best friends are sauntering off to the biggest fashion party in New York City Rock Plaza without ME!" Jenn exclaimed.

Jace paused, "Huh! That's sad… but y'all coming with me!"

"Aww…Oh…Oh… Ohhhh!" Hunt and Jenn whined in protest, "I don't think that's such a good ide—!"

"Coooome on." Jace shoved them out of the Plaza, the duo went on shouting out protests and excuses at Jace.

xXx

Mario, Luigi, Pit, Link, Kirby, Fox and Falco have circled around the Nintendo 3DS sitting on the pedestal, hours with no kind of sound, no sorts of noise… whatsoever…

"Aw come on!" Pit exclaimed, "We've been waiting in here for HOURS! We should get inside the device and get that girl out of the Nintendo World!"

"Uh-huh! No to-da way!" Luigi violently shook his head, "Jace told us NOT to touch the 3DS until he comes back with Hunt and Jenn!"

"So you're telling us that he's forbidding us to get back to our own home?" Falco argued.

Luigi was about to reply but was loss of words.

"It's-a not that! Uh… technically." Mario replied, trying to make sense of this, "He means that we should…!"

A Pokeball flew right past him, interrupting him. He tried again, "…that we should…"

"JIGGLYPUFF!" the scream of the pink singing wonder jumped their spines. Jigglypuff leapt before them with a Pokeball on hands. Pikachu tackled him from behind. Jigglypuff let go off of the Pokeball and turned on Pikachu, hissing. Pikachu tried to reply but Jigglypuff ignored him and ran for the Pokeball. Pikachu frantically followed.

Mario tried to speak again, "It's…"

More flying pokeball zipped across the store, and more Pokémon got evicted from their rounded homes, wreaking havoc the store: from Electrodes to Gulpins to Bellossoms and wandering Munchlaxes, flying Staryus, and crying Togepis and Clefairies.

"Allright!" Mario hissed, "Who's not taking care of those Pokémon?!"

The Nintendo character watched the Pokémon chattering and zigzagging at every corner of the store. It was getting out of control until Peach's sweet calm voice rang across the walls.

"It's tea and cookie time!"

The Pokémon jerked their heads up. They saw Peach with a plate of warm heart-shaped sugar cookies, and English tea on the side of the platter. They stampeded toward her, surrounding her into a circle. The Smash Bros. didn't hesitate and went to seat with her and the Pokémon also. They delightfully reached for the cookies and went on devouring them, as Peach served her guests of honor the hot tea in several cups.

Then a man entered the Nintendo Store and spotted the Smash Brothers. The man—rather than freaking out by the 3D-Animated appearance of the colorful cast—appeared calm and collected. He was in his early 30s with high cheekbones, double chin, fluffy chestnut hair, sported high frame specs, bushy mustache like Mario, and had on an Armani three-piece suit with a grass-green tie and handkerchief. He was followed by two bodyguards.

"Ha!" he clasped his hands before approaching the Smash Brothers, speaking with a British accent "Just the guests of honor I've been looking for." He reached for a cookie, "Why thank you my dear."

"You're welcome! Who are you?" Peach said with a smile.

"Ugh, great…" Falco rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me it's for another celebrity close-up on the newest freaks of New York. Am I right?"

"Yes you are quite correct for a talking parrot. Jamey Stachio at your service. Celebrity, entrepreneur, fashion connoisseur extraordinaire. But call me Mr. Stachio. I am looking for _all_ of you to host with me a very special high-tech fashion venue at the Rockefeller Plaza. Part of the 2011-2012 Tokyo Fashion Week. VIP guests must have their invites from Tokyo's event, but _you_ folks don't need any. Interested?"

The Smash Brothers opened their mouths to speak.

"Great!" Mr. Stachio interrupted, "Fantastic! Thank you very much. Don't forget to sign your agreements…"

He was speaking just as his bodyguards pulled out a bunch of contracts and pens for the Smash Brothers to sign, "…on the bottom line of those contracts. Initial required. No need to stamp the date, today's already here! Now—"

The bodyguards yanked the contracts back. Stachio handed over his business card to Mario, "Here's my card. And I'll see _you_ folks at the gala!"

He started walking away when Luigi exclaimed, "Wait…! What's going on? What kind of party you talking about? We never signed up to this!"

"We'll be serving stuffed mushrooms croutons." Mr. Stachio said.

"Sign me UP!"

"Hmm…" Mr. Stachio forced a smile before departing with his bodyguards. "Wait…!" Pit called and all turned to him. "Mr. Stachio?" he stifled, "And your name is Jamey?" he suddenly cracked up laughing. "Wh—wh—why? Shouldn't you be called _Miss_ Stachio? HA! HA! Get… it…? Hee…hee…"

Mr. Stachio glared at Pit for a good solid minute. Pit got quiet and lowered his head. Mr. Stachio took his leave and his bodyguards followed.

"Nice going." Fox grinned at Pit, whose embarrassed pink face shaded more.

"Well, whadaya know? We're going to a party!" Mario exclaimed and the Smash Brothers cheered joyfully.

xXx

Jace, Hunt and Jenn were now at a section of Central Park. The duo turned to him.

"Okay, Jace…" Hunt grimaced, "You know what's happening at school right now? It's a new term. That means what? That means new stuffs and this noggin…" he did a quick knock-knock on his forehead, "…needs some fresh new learning and focus!"

"Yeah, come on Jace." Jenn said, "You gotta let the kid go with his education."

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Hunt hissed, offended by Jenn's comment.

"Hunt. Don't worry about a thing." Jace reassured him, "You gotta remember that my 3DS can create perfect avatar versions of yourself. That way you don't have to miss a beat of class."

-…-

In class,

"Hunter Long."

"Yey!" squealed Hunt's Mii, sitting where Hunt was supposed to seat. The dull professor went on, "Alaina Morales?'

Before Alaina could respond…

"Yey!" Hunt's Mii squealed again. The professor briefly glowered.

"Stevie Norris?"

"Yey!"

The professor glared again.

-…-

Hunt glared at Jace.

"Really?"

Cheerful Jace shrugged care-freely.

Hunt still glared at him, unamused.

"A _Mii_ version of _myself_?"

"Hey, it's better than a silent mannequin." Jace patted his back.

Cheesecake suddenly started barking, catching the trio's attention.

"Cheesecake…?" Jenn said.

He suddenly jumped from Jenn's grasp and ran deeper into the sea of trees, barking.

"Cheesecake!" Jenn gave pursuit, and Jace and Hunt followed. As they were running through the trees, the entire scenery changed right before them, and the spacious forest of Central Park had once again morphed into a dense habitation of a typical African jungle. They were _now_ in Congo Jungle.

Jenn, Jace and Hunt looked around for Cheesecake, but he was nowhere to be found under the crowded trees, and the road before them looked very dense and dark.

"He's nowhere to be found!" Jenn turned to the boys, "Jace, help me find Cheesecake."

Jace stepped back, hands before him in protest, "Whoa, ohh! No. I don't think so."

"What? Why?"

"You're the most courageous guy we know." Hunt said.

"Yeah. Courageous, but not stupid." Jace said, "Look, that forest is so dark and dense, it's like the Amazon. Who knows what creepy slithering creatures could lurk—!"

Jenn grabbed Jace by the legs and effortlessly swung him over her shoulders. "WHOA! HEY! What the—?! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" Jace shouted.

"Who cares?!" Jenn yelled, sauntering deep into the jungle with Jace around her shoulders. Hunt followed.

"I DO!" Jace screamed.

"YOU'RE the one who dragged us on an adventure! So YOU'RE the one who's gonna get yourSELF into that adventure!"

"HEY, touché!"

Cheesecake stopped at a nearby bed of bushes and large vines. He jumped up and down to bark even more stridently. Jenn and Jace reached the dog. Jenn dropped Jace down on the ground and picked her Nintendog up, "Oh Cheesecake… you scared me!" Jenn said with a sigh of relief.

"You sure scared _me_." Jace said to Jenn who rolled her eyes.

The dog appeared agitated, barking non-stop.

"Cheesecake, where were you? What's the matter?" she asked as she looked over the direction Cheesecake was barking at. Jenn drew a sharp breath, watching massive 9-foot tall gorillas pitting against each other in a frightening bloody brawl. Cheers were heard around them in a circular jungle-like arena covered with trees. The cheers came from weird creatures that look like tikis and many more jungle creatures as well. The look and the sound of it indicated they were having a Smash Brawl match.

"Oh my gosh, gorillas…!" Hunt quivered at the massive sight.

"One of them is Donkey Kong!" Jace recognized some amongst the cast, "…with Diddy!"

"Oh my gosh, look!" Jenn pointed above the gorillas. A cat—tiny, cute, and frightened on its little legs—stood on a dead tree branch defenseless and with nowhere to run but a faux-pas that'll snap the branch off and send it plummeting to its death. The gang noticed around its neck, a collar with the Nintendo logo on it. They immediately knew what cat it was.

"A cat?" The heroes blinked.

"A Nintencat!" Jenn corrected.

Jace and Hunt turned to stare at her. "Nintencats?" they said together. She further explained, "My father told me to watch out for them. A dog or a cat that carries a Nintendo collar around their neck is considered a Nintendog or a Nintencat. Like Cheesecake!"

"What is it doing here?" Hunt asked.

"It's just like Dad said." Jenn explained, "The magical effect of the 3DS has not only collided our world with the Nintendo universe, but has separated its characters across many directions. Y'kow: Pit, Kirby, Link, Samus, Mario… all of them ended up in New York, now this Nintencat ended up here…" she then noticed her surrounding, "…in the Kongo Jungle section of DK Island!"

"Wait, that's not Kongo Jun—!" Jace stopped talking upon noticing his new surrounding, which he had failed to notice earlier. Instead of a few pine trees and a sturdy grassy soil with some skyscrapers towering over them in the background, they were lots of palm and banana trees congested together, with rocky terrains and some muddy ground and no skyscrapers in sight. They were also much kind of vines and an assortment of exotic plants. The catchiest feel of the jungle was the cry of wild monkeys and other animals surrounding the three friends.

"…Wait a sec. We're not in New York anymore?" Jace gasped.

But his friends stared, mesmerized by their newest surroundings. Jace was used to these kinds of sudden changes from real life to Nintendo life. It happened to him when he crossed the Empire State Building's high floor only to end up at the Temple of Time. He still hasn't forgotten about the forest he stumbled upon instead of the restroom onboard Tokyo Air when they were flying back to New York. But of course Jace was getting used to those. It was Hunt and Jenn that has to deal with this for the first time. They gaped at that sudden transformation. They were so much in shock that they could only utter a gasp.

"Looks like we're lost, huh?" Jace broke the silence, chuckling nervously.

"Yeah…" Hunt uttered, "We are… … … no thanks to YOU!" he hissed.

"Whoa!" Jace jumped back, "Hey, don't blame me for the magical effect of the 3DS."

"…wait. I don't get it." Jenn blinked, "I thought you said that… the 3DS was back at the Nintendo World Store with the Smash Brothers?"

"Yeah… the 3DS. A _regular_ 3DS that is."

Jenn and Hunt gave Jace a weird look.

"What?" he shrugged, "I can't trust these Nintendo goofs for one second with this thing! Do you know how dangerous its powers can be? You tell them but do they listen? Nooooo…"

Jenn grinned, "Welcome to my world."

The branch cracked. The heroes turned back to the cat in danger. The creature whimpered, frantically struggling to swing its legs over back to the weak branch.

"Oh no!" Hunt panicked, "It's gonna fall!" he then saw the fighting gorillas right below, "Right down into these gorillas' terrifying brawl fest!"

One of the Kong swung a Smash fist at DK, sending it flying to a wall. The crowd wailed in joy.

"It needs help." Jenn exclaimed, paying close attention to the cat in peril, "What are we gonna do?"

"I've got it!" Jace lit up, "Hunt and I will help."

Hunt whipped his head toward Jace, "I will?"

Jace and Jenn stared back at him. Hunt giggled nervously, "hee-hee… I mean I will…"

"Don't worry, buddy. The 3DS can give you super-strength." Jace pulled out the 3DS and flipped it open. With a couple of taps, a Question Mark?-Block shot out of the 3D screen and right near the brawling area. "I'll go get the cat outta that tree. But you need to go face these Kongs to distract them. Provoke them a little… be cool."

"You want me to act cool?" Hunt said, voice in a quivering high pitch.

"Exactly." Jace said, "And then when they get bad and they wanna pound your face in—BAM!"

Hunt jumped in response.

"—you just hit that block," Jace went on, "and a Mega Mushroom will come out to you. And you grab it. Remember…" he placed his hand over the shaken Hunt's shoulders, "…YOU, GRRRAB-EE, IT. Got it?"

"Okay." Hunt exhaled.

"You can do it buddy. You're tough guy!" Jace patted him and pushed him through the thick bushes. He then faced Jenn, "You stay still, 'cuz." He then went for the tree branch.

"Be careful." Jenn said, "That tree branch is weak."

Hunt squeezed through the bushes, repeating to himself, "I am a tough guy. I _am_ a tough guy. I can do it." His eyes closed, his nerves slowly calmed as he approached his destination to face the brawling Kongs. Finally he gently opened his eyelids and faced their heavyweight bodies pounding at each other. Immediately he recognized the other Kongs opposite DK and Diddy: the three menacing Kong Kings! His nerves came back anew.

"Maybe if I remove my glasses and slip on some rocks under my shirt to look more chubby…" he quickly shook his head and his shrill voice turned deep, "No, Hunt! Focus! Jace said you're a tough guy. And a tough guy I shall be. Wait… tough guy never say shall. Okay, no glasses on."

Hunt pulled out his glasses, stuffed them into his shirt pocket, and spread his legs and arms apart to look like a tough guy. And with a powerful squeal he said, "Hey…"

He quickly cleared his throat and finally bellowed with sheer volume and a deep tone, "HEY, CHUBBYHEADS!"

The crowd died. All attention turned to him.

Hunt shouted again, "…Yeah, Booker Tees! I'm-a talkin' to y'all!" He pointed at the Kong Kings before he glanced up at the Question mark?-block above him. The Kong Kings turned away from their opponents and approached. The plan was working.

"WELL, THIS IS A NEW ONE IN SMASH BRAWL MATCH-UP!" the announcer—a Gong Tiki with a Tiki Goon as its partner—was heard speaking in the background. Its voice sounded like a cheerful Jamaican man, "NEW CHALLENGER IN MIDDLE OF MATCH-UP!"

"LET'S SEE HOW MATCH-UP UNFOLDS!" The Tiki Goon blabbered next, sounding like a wise African chieftain, its eyes narrowed on Hunt. All eyes were on Hunt also.

"Whatchu want pal?" Dread Kong cracked his knuckles, threateningly approaching Hunt.

"I think he wants a piece of us!" Karate Kong ranted.

"Not until we get a piece of HIM first!" Sumo Kong added.

"Hm-mmh!" Ninja Kong agreed, moving his head back and forth. Cheering rose from the crowd again. Hunt felt very uncomfortable. He glanced from one eye corner at Jace who was already on a bigger tree branch next to the frail branch where the cat was.

"Come on, kitty-kitty-kitty…" he said with one hand around the branch and the other reaching for the cat, "Cooome on. Grab my hand now."

The cat looked at Jace's hands, his fingers inches toward the cat's fluffy frightened face. He looked back at Jace. With one tiny paw it reached out to touch Jace's fingers. Jace's smile widened. "That's it… come on, kitty."

_Crack!_ Jace's body suddenly shifted down. The startled teen noticed the branch he was on was cracking as well, faster than the one the cat was on. The cat meowed in panic. Jace froze up. One more move and he could be in deadville, fifty feet from above ground.

"Aww man…"

Hunt, having no idea his best friend was in trouble, muttered angrily, "…hurry up, Jace!"

"WHAT?" Dread Kong boomed. Hunt startled, "DID YOU SAY SOMETH'N, PUNK?! HUH?!"

The crowd cheered again. Dread Kong furiously roared before throwing another fist pound to the ground and swung a heavy knuckle at half a crowd of tikis, flying. Hunt was literally shaking on his feet.

"Hunt, come on!" Jenn called out to her friend while no one was watching. "Hit that dang block!"

"You can do it buddy!" Jace cheered on Hunt before harshly whispering and shaking his head with a grief-stricken look on his face, " _I can't do it_."

The nervous Hunt frowned. He tried repeating what his friend was saying, but the Kongs interrupted again with a furious growl. He turned back to the menaces before him, shaking in his legs. He quickly struck the block!

The crowd gasped just as a Mega Mushroom shot out of the block and flew straight into the arena toward Sumo Kong. The Mushroom struck the Kong!

Jenn gasped. Her Nintendog gasped. Hunt gasped. Jace and the cat gasped. The crowd gasped.

"Mommy…" Hunt squealed. The Sumo Kong towered over the jungle, shaking and shattering trees in his way, including the one where Jace and the cat were. Jace and the cat quickly managed to dangle over the branch's last leg, gasping heavily.

The Kong's feet were the size of a massive rock. His red eyes glowed ruby. His hairy back were like tall grasses in a savannah. He was terrifying.

"RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARR RRRRSSS!" The Kong pounded on his chest.

"RUNNNN!" Jenn screamed and took off. So did Hunt. The crowd of Tikis cheered and the Kong Kings left the scene in chase of Jenn and Hunt.

Jace faced the cat, "All right buddy." he harshly breathed, "It's just you and me. We gotta do this… for Jenn and Hunt."

The cat squealed. Jace scooped the cat in one arm and snapped the branch off. They went for a vine and they swung, screaming toward the hairy Sumo Kong. Jace threw a forward kick on the Kong's head. The Kong trampled in pain and went for the ground toward Hunt and Jenn. The duo screamed as the shadow of the Kong towered over them… only to get slammed by Jace and the cat on the vine. The Kong crashed on the ground.

The Kong's comrades and the Tiki circled around the Sumo, struggling to get back to his feet.

Jace knelt before his friends, "You two okay?"

"…ow my head…" Jenn groaned holding on her throbbing head.

"No time to panic!" Jace said, "Come on!" the trio jumped back on their feet.

"Hey, just so you know," Hunt hissed, "That's the worst way to say that to someone that DOES panic!"

"WHERE ARE THEY?!" Dread Kong exploded, looking around with the others.

The Maraca-like Tikis spotted the heroes ahead, disappearing into a speck. They squealed and shake and all heads turned to their direction. They chased after the gang. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong trailed behind, watching the crowd vanishing in pursuit to the heroes. They looked at each other, blinking.

The rowdy crowd grew closer and closer toward the gang.

"THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!" Hunt exclaimed.

"IS _NOW_ THE PERFECT TIME TO PANIC?!" Jenn screamed.

"You had to ask?!" Jace exclaimed, still running.

The gang's towering shadows hovered before the heroes. The heroes ran, ran and ran, slapping heavy bushes, jumping over mud puddles, climbing over steep hills, until they pulled right out of a bunch of heavy leaf plants and…!

…right onto Fifth Avenue!

They jumped back, startled by cars zooming past them. They breathed heavily, especially Hunt and Jenn.

"…well, whadaya know…" Jace looked back to see Central park, "…think we lost 'em."

Jenn and Hunt glared at Jace. Jace shrugged.

**xXx**

Jace, Hunt and Jenn were back at the Plaza's waiting lounge.

"Great." Jenn sighed with frustration, "Now we're never gonna find that girl again."

"She could be anywhere now." Jace said.

"Yeah, but anywhere… where?" Hunt asked.

Jace shrugged, "I don't know. I…!"

"Hey, 'sup guys." The heroes heard Hans's greeting.

"Hans, good to see you!" they greeted him collectively.

"Likewise." He said, "You've heard the latest?"

They shook heads.

"Some wacko girl said that she visited the Nintendo World."

The heroes' eyes widened. Hans rolled his eyes and slightly chuckled, "First we get real-life Smash Brothers here and now this? I swear if this is another one of Nintendo's PR stunt, I ain't buying this, _this_ time."

He paused, "…and by buying this, I mean the joke, not the actual game. Cause you know… Smash rules, right?"

"Where's that girl?" Jace asked.

"The Nintendo Store itself." Hans replied, "She said she got some evidence: a..."  
he air-quotted, "…'magical' 3DS."

Jace, Hunt and Jenn looked at each other, eyes widened. They jumped off their seats and scurried off the plaza.

**xXx**

The Nintendo World Store was once again filled with reporters, witnesses, police enforcement even... But at least, there were customers. All were chattering before Glyph, rolling their eyes, thinking she was delusional at the very least.

"Im telling you the truth!" Glyph screamed, insisting, "The TRUUUUTH!"

"Really?" one of the reporters said with a glare that said, 'don't bleep with me.'

"Yeah, it's the whole bloody truth." Glyph said. "That 3DS is all too magic!"

It was at that exact moment that Jace, Hunt and Jenn entered the store. Glyph was standing right in front of Jace's 3DS on the pedestal.

"Aw man, we're done for." Hunt sighed defeatedly, "She's gonna expose the Nintendo 3DS's magic!"

"Yeahhh... I don't think so." Jace said, "Did you forget that's my 3DS up there? That one is not magic."

Jenn looked around, "But where are the Nintendo characters? They're not here in the store."

"HERE!" Glyph pulled out the pedestal and picked up the 3DS, "You don't wanna believe me?" she grimaced, "Fine. Bring in your camera here and I'll show you. One button off this Home Button and you'll definitely see some magic!"

IT techs and cameras crew came before Glyph and the 3DS and quickly installed the device and their equipment to an overhead for all to see Glyph in action. Glyph caught a glimpse of her Best Buy managers who looked at her like she was crazy. That didn't stop her from winking at them.

"One button off this Home Button? Is this she-devil for real?" Jace couldn't help but chuckle. Hunt and Jenn giggled as well. In any second they were about to witness Glyph making a fool out of herself before half of New York City-or so far, half of half of the neighborhood.

Glyph flipped opens the 3DS. She was now on the Home menu. She searched for an icon. She tapped the Eshop App. No magic. She went for the Streetpass Mii Plaza app. Still no magic. She scrolled across the Home screen. More and more apps she found. She turned frantic.

Finally she spotted it: the Smash Bros 3D Demo app! Jace, Hunt and Jenn looked like thy were at the edge of their seats. Glyph pushed it. She went on to say that this was where all the magic happened! The reporters don't wanna hear her. They want her to show them. She gladly will do it. She pressed the touch screen to start the game. There was the menu, the characters for the demo, the music, the stages, the combat, the cheesy high spirited narrator...

...but still no magic.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS THE MAGIC?" somebody screamed from the crowd and the crowd replied rowdily. Glyph felt intense pressure. She faced the dispersing crowd "Wait guys, it's coming. I know it!"

She turned back to the game, where she was apparently being crushed in battle. "I know it's right there somewhere! I just know it!" She quickly quit and went for other options in the demo. But of course the camera crew and IT guys have already unplugged their equipment and disconnected their overheads and joined the leaving crowd.

"Wait, everyone! It's right there I'm telling you! IT'S RIGHT THERE!" Glyph exclaimed.

Her Best Buy colleagues and managers, who were the last ones out, gave her one last long look of disappointment before walking out the store.

"Wait, guys! I'm not gonna get fired for this, right?"

They were already gone.

"I'm getting fired..." Glyph's shoulders sank low.

The gang walked toward her. Glyph approached them desperately, "Wait! You three!" she said, "You believe me, don't you? About the magical 3DS?"

"Oh yeah, I believe you." Jace said. Jenn and Hunt glanced at him, wide-eyed. Glyph's face glowed.

"I also believed in flying unicorns, the tooth fairy, and birds winning American Idol."

Hunt and Jenn chortled. Glyph's jaws dropped. Jace raised his hands, "Just sayin'."

"Oh." Glyph's eyes narrowed, "You think that's funny huh?" she closed in on Jace till they were nose-to-nose, "I know something is magical about this place. I just know it. I am not gonna rest until I find proof!"

Her face suddenly lit up, "... wait a minute. Perhaps these Smash Brothers can prove it to me." she giggled creepily, "Thank you, Nintendo viral marketing. I just have to find them." She then jolted out the door.

"Man, that was close." Hunt said.

"Don't worry about her." Jace said, "We just need to find the Smash Brothers. They could be anywhere."

"Yeah but next time," Jenn said, "we need to be more careful! We don't want any more surprises!"

Unbeknownst to the gang they were being watched… by the Kong Kings! The three gorillas predatorily stared at them from outside the store. People passing by couldn't keep their eyes off the gorillas, until Karate Kong turned to gaze at them.

"ROAAAAAAARS!" Karate let out a powerful snarl that quickly dispersed the crowd in a frenzied panic.

"Hello boys."

The Kong Kings heard a voice. They turned to face Kalimba Tiki. It had a body. They confusedly cocked their heads on one side.

Kalimba moved out of the way to reveal the person with the body: Nergal. The evil sorcerer smiled.

"Surprise to see me?" he said, "If it's revenge you're seeking for your ever-loving defeat on that latest Smash Brothers match, I can give it to you for free. What do you say?"

The Kong Kings hooted excitedly, closing in on Nergal. Nergal opened up his palm and a ball of white sparkled light, as bright as the clearest moonlight hovered inches from the sorcerer's palm. The Kong Kings stared at it, feeling its warmth close to their faces. One shot of that power and it could scorch a monster into ashes… if not electrocuting them first.

"But in exchange." Nergal said, "You'd have to bring me a head on a platinum platter… the White Knight's head: Jacen Riders."

The gorillas hooted, loudly banged on their chests and hopped up and down as if in cheerful agreement.

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

A fashion show at the Rockfeller Center is taken over by the Smash Bros... and Nergal.

Pat and Maple will help Link on his rescue mission for Zelda. New York will never be the same again.

There's gonna be a wedding between a mortal and a Nintendo princess. And Peach is the maid of honor... and something more.

Thanksgiving comes early with Kirby!

Warning! New Challenger Approaching! And she's quite eccentric.

The November 18th episode will end in a cliffhanger. Who will survive?

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Fashion Show__ in 3D_


	6. Ep4:: Fashion Show in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Fashion Show in 3D_

* * *

**_Back at the Plaza, at the Imperial Suite_**

Jenn was on the couch, face-down, moaning as if she was in pain. Jace, Hunt, Mario, Luigi, Link, Fox and Pit stood there, staring with worry.

"Mamamia! She's-a been like this for hours!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Yeah, what is wrong with her?" Pit questioned.

Hunt shrugged, "We don't know." He said, "She's been like this since last night."

Jenn groaned some more.

Jace rolled his eyes, "My gosh, Jenn. Would you stop whining like it's the end of the world?"

Jenn rolled her head toward Jace, her puffy eyes glared brightly, "It IS the end of the world!" she screamed, "The party of the year is tonight, and I don't even have ticks!"

Fox raised an eyebrow; "Ticks?" the Smash Brothers gave each other confused looks.

"You don't wanna know." Hunt said.

"Aren't you talking about that big-a party at the Rockefeller?" Mario asked, "Because we were invited."

Jenn jerked up her head.

"Yeah." Luigi added, "Some big shot guy named Stachio something came to the Store and made us sign paperwork for the party."

"JAMES STACHIO?!" Jenn jumped off the couch and excitedly pinned Luigi to a wall, "As in James Stachio the celebrity, entrepreneur, fashion connoisseur extraordinaire JAMES STACHIO?! WHERE IS HE?"

"I don't know where is he." A nervous Luigi exclaimed.

"Even if we knew where he was, we won't see him until tonight." Link added, "He asked us to host with him."

Jenn now grabbed Link by the colon, "YOU'VE GOTTA TAKE ME TO THAT PARTY! NAAOW!"

"Whoa, calm down Jenn." Jace said to the anxious Jenn who turned to him, "What's the big deal? It's just a fashion party."

"It is NOT just a fashion party." Jenn menacingly approached Jace, "It is part of the Tokyo Fashion Week. The Tokyo Fashion Gala is usually celebrated at Shibuya Scramble Crossing before Building 109 and it's the bomb, but when it is celebrated here at the Rock Plaza, you don't get the bomb. You get the MOTHER of all bombs!"

Jace was now pinned to the wall. Jenn went on crispily, "They'll be celebrities from all over the world! There'll be fashionistas from all over the world! They'll be foods and drinks and music from all over the world! And anyone who gets into that party ends up bragging about it till kingdom comes! And the best part? You become popular!"

Jenn gnashed her teeth, "And I can NOT let Mel and Nina become popular without ME!"

"Well, you're-a in luck." Mario said to Jenn, "Our limousine is-a coming in fifteen minutes and we oughta get-a going!"

"Fifteen minutes?" Jenn exclaimed, "We don't have much time!" she sped off the room and ran upstairs like a fanatic, "What am I gonna wear? What am I gonna wear?!"

"I'm scared…" Luigi grumbled on his fingernails.

Jace chuckled slightly, "Don't worry. She only gets like this at parties."

An holographic elevator came out of the blue and out came Samus. "Terrible news." She said, and right on cue Falco came busting the door open, "A portal to the Nintendo World has been breached." Samus added.

"What?" the heroes exclaimed.

"I got some terrible news too." Hunt said, glaring at Falco, "We can't afford to pay for another door!" Falco raised his arms in dismissal.

"What do you mean it has-a been breached?" Mario asked.

"The gateway from this world to our world has been ripped open. We can now access the Nintendo World." Samus said.

"But how is that bad news?" Hunt asked, "You guys can now go home, right?"

"We can," Falco added, "but those remaining in the Nintendo World can also come here. And to travel through the portals isn't going to be that easy either."

"Only one thing could have made this happen:" Samus said, "The Third Dimensional Sphere and the Third Dimensional Screen have unleashed their powers at the exact same time frame."

"Exact same time frame?" Jace blinked, "…well, I only used the 3DS once, when we got to DK Jungle to get that girl outta there. Glyph."

"Wait, what girl?" Falco furrowed his brow.

Jace hesitated, "Well… I… this…"

"Don't lie to me, White Knight!" Falco scowled, "Did you let the Third Dimensional Screen exposed to the eye of one of your kind?"

"Dude! It was an accident!" Hunt quickly said to Falco, "Jace didn't mean for this to happen."

"It doesn't matter who saw the Third Dimensional Screen." Samus said, "If she doesn't have enough proof to expose its power to the world, we're fine. What we're concerned about is that the Screen and the Sphere were used at the exact same time frame. That means that when you Jace used the Screen, the Nintendo Villains also used the Sphere."

"For what exactly?" Mario asked.

"No doubt for their evil deed." Falco replied.

"I don't know about that." Samus said, "What we do know however is that the Sphere and Screen power has left behind a stretch mark. Or something we call the 3D Mark. It's easy to recognize it. It looks pretty much like a Smash Ball… only this color."

Samus flipped open a lid of her armored wrist to reveal a holographic screen. The screen display a Smash symbol, it was ghostly blue and emitted a fainted dark-blue smoke. Not surprisingly, its image was in 3D. The Smash Bros. breathed in awe at this.

"3D is so gorgeous." Pit said with a smile.

"So where can we find that 3D mark?" Jace asked. "And how can we get rid of it before anyone sees it?"

"I don't know how we can get rid of it, but I know where to find it." Samus displayed another image onto the screen, "The GE Building at the Rockefeller Plaza."

"That's where that Fashion party is gonna take place." Hunt said excitedly.

"All right everybody. We have a party to crash!" Jace exclaimed. All the Smash Bros. pumped their fists in the air, except Samus who shook her head, "…I don't do that."

**_New York City, Rock Plaza_**

As Jenn expected, the Rockefeller Plaza was heavily crowded with reporters, spectators, celebrities, supermodels, fashion experts and fans from all over the world. They filled the plaza the same way they filled the inside of the GE Building, where on the rooftop of the building was the big party. Security was greatly enforced. There were those that check the authenticity of tickets and those that got trespassers out of the way, and those that arrested those trespassers that got a bit rowdy and aggressive.

Limos surrounded the square. One limo in particular pulled up and out came a very grumpy man with thin glasses, gray hair and a permanent frown on his face. Despite the grouchy appearance he did look very stylish in a cobalt-blue suit, a red tie with checkers attached to his ivory dress shirt, fancy Italian shoes and gold cuffs. Following behind the man was a figure sporting a heavy black cloak. Only its decadent yet gorgeous slanted eyes were left exposed.

"What the hell is this place?" the man barked. The only response he got was from the cheerful party crowd and the millions of cameras flashing and blinking at him, invading his space.

"Here's your coffee, Mr. Michaels." His assistant—a young skinny female with glasses and red hair tied to a bonnet—handed him over his coffee.

"Black and real?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate black and real." he said, pushing the coffee away and went on.

"Ah, Pac Micchio."

The man—Pac Micchio—saw Mr. Stachio the celebrity, entrepreneur, fashion connoisseur extraordinaire, approaching Pac and greeted him. "Always a pleasure." They shook hands. He then turned to greet the assistant, then turned to the unknown figure who simply glared at him under the heavy cloak. He chided.

"And a pleasure it shall always be." He said.

"I'd say likewise, Mr… James Stachio, but I'd be lying." Pac said, "Where's the press? Paparazzi make me vomit."

Mr. Stachio escorted Pac into the crowded party, and as expected the press was there, taking pictures and capturing footages and statements of all of the guests of this regal night. Another limousine pulled up and out came the Smash Brothers. More paparazzi came, invading their spaces. Then Hunt, Jenn, and Jace came out of the limo as well. They all looked radiant in formals. But the paparazzi weren't paying much attention to them. Just the Nintendo characters.

"Oh my gosh…!" Hunt breathed.

"What?" Jace said.

"Isn't that Pac Micchio, hotshot video game and electronics senior analyst and the most hated guy by many Nintendo fans?" Hunt pointed at the grumpy man who was ahead of the arriving crowd.

"Why do you guys not like Pac Micchio?" Jenn argued, "His views are accurate."

The boys stared at Jenn.

"M-Most of the time." she quickly added. She then observed the figure next to him, "And who's that guy with him?"

Jace narrowed his eyes. He could get a glimpse of the figure's cloak and its texture and shape were more colorful and… animated. "No doubt, a Nintendo character."

Hunt and Jenn whizzed their heads toward Jace. Jace shrugged, "What, it's true. Notice the shape. And the texture and color and the linings all over him. That's clearly screams Animated 3D. And only the Smash Brothers have that look. No one else."

The Smash Bros and the teens passed through the crowd of reporters and fans. They too stopped to take pictures. There were more cheers and hoots for the colorful cast of Nintendo characters and these lucky teens.

"Would it be awesome if anyone could join force with Nintendo character for a real-life Smash Brothers tournament?" Hunt proposed, "You know? More marketing to promote the upcoming game? And wouldn't it be MORE awesome if we got to travel back to the Nintendo World AND make this happen? It'll be like reality _Yu-Gi-Oh_! Well… except with the Smash Brothers."

Jace and Jenn glared at Hunt the entire time he said that.

"What?" he shrugged, "It's an AWESOME idea!"

Jenn chuckled, "yeah, but please. Don't make it come true! I had enough drama back at DK Jungle." She then spotted Mel and Nina nearby, chatting with a couple of hot boys. "Perfect." She said, "That's my cue, boys." She put on her chic sunglasses, "Operation Dissin' Diva is on."

She walked away. She was this close to her friends—or frenemies as she'd call them—until a huge bouncer got in the way. The bouncer grunted loudly under his heavy trenchcoat and a fedora hat with a brim large enough to cover his face, but not his long jaws.

"What the—?" she tried to pass by the bouncer. "Excuse me?" she turned to her right. The bouncer jumped to her right. To her left and he was in her left. Jenn growled, "Augh, would you move your fatness out of my—?!"

Her eyes widened when she saw the bouncer's tie. It was red, and it was marked with an initial: DK.

"…way?" she finished her sentence. Her face moved up to meet the bouncer's face. A huge grin appeared on the Kong's lips.

Donkey Kong quickly scooped Jenn off her feet, tossed her over his shoulder and carried her away. Jenn screamed and fought to be let go, but that didn't stop the large monkey.

Meanwhile Jace and Hunt entered the Plaza's Channel Gardens, where they found more people invited to the party.

"Okay, this is it." Jace said, "One of us is gonna try to get into the GE Building. That's where most of the partygoers are."

"Got it." A preoccupied Hunt said, tapping fervently on his iPhone. He was not aware that Diddy Kong, looking spiffy in a blue blazer over his red shirt was dangling on a palm tree behind him. As Jace went on talking about the big plan on how to get into the building to find the 3D Mark, Diddy was snapping his finger over Hunt's ear. Hunt slapped his hand away then turned around. Diddy vanished into the tree.

Hunt went back to his iPhone and Diddy snuck behind him again. Once again the chimp snapped his finger over Hunt's ear, and Hunt slapped it away again, whizzed around and saw no Diddy. He turned back to his iPhone, but this time he paused, meticulously glancing back and forth, hoping to catch that finger-snapping creep in the act.

But Diddy Kong was now perched right above him! The chimp slowly crept up his arm toward the iPhone then in a blinding whiz, snatched the device from Hunt's hands. He jerked up and saw Diddy. "HEY!" he hissed and jumped for his iPhone. Diddy dodged him, zipping from tree to tree. Hunt pursued the monkey tree to tree. The monkey kept waving the phone at Hunt tauntingly and Hunt's face turned red. The entire time this was happening, Jace was still scheming about his plan, completely clueless that Hunt was having a monkey problem.

Hunt had enough. He grabbed on a branch and quickly climbed a tree. Then Diddy Kong grabbed Hunt by the back of his blazer and whisked him into the tree. Hunt's scream faded out into the tree and his iPhone dropped from the tree branches.

Jace turned to face Hunt, "…so what do you think?"

No Hunt in sight.

"Hunt?" Jace looked around the crowded party. "Huuunt?" No sign of his best friend.

Jace scoffed, "He ditched me." He feverously crossed his arms and tapped his foot, "It's just like the Prom."

He shrugged, "Ah, whatever. He'll eventually turn up." He walked away, completely neglecting his best friend's iPhone right under his feet.

xXx

Pac Micchio was told by VIP guest checkers to retreat at a fancy private lounge on the GE Building. So he went there with his assistant and his mysterious escort. But for some reasons, the bouncer couldn't let the assistant follow her boss. So she told him to go ahead and she'll be fine. And so he did without a care in the world.

Finally they reached the lounge. A neat red carpet of fine wool covered the entire place, and there were some Louis XIV chairs and a dynamic royal table. Some fern plants at the corners, some more homey furnitures such as coffee tables, and some abstract statues… but the best feature was that it overlooked the city of New York from miles via top-to-bottom windows at only half the room, with a skylight roof. The party on the rooftop was just above the skylight, pounding their feet with exhilaration, without a care of the world below them.

The bouncer closed and locked the door.

"So what is it that is so important that I'd have to come up here, hm?" Pac said, not bothering to look at the mysterious figure he was speaking to but to the luminous city before him. The mysterious figure removed his cloak to reveal his face: Nergal.

Pac's eyes widened as he saw Nergal through the window reflection and turned to face him. "What the…?"

Nergal snapped his fingers and Pac got surrounded by the three Kong Kings. He looked around, then turned back to Nergal, "Hey you're not a Nintendo VP! What the hell is this, an ambush?"

"Indeed." Nergal smirked. Then with a frown, said, "Seize him."

The Kongs held Pac by the arm. Pac tried to struggle but the Kongs were too strong for him. Then Pac watched Kalimba Tiki descend before him and its distorted eyes started to twirl. The Tiki moved and swayed in rhythm to the hypnotic jingle and in a split second, the grouchy critic brought a huge creepy smile on his face.

"That's it, Pac…" Nergal said, "You're gonna love me. And you're gonna love my world and my people."

xXx

Jace was now inside the building at a ballroom section with the runway. That was where most of the fashion spectacular would take place. A really hot Latino song was playing in the background. He looked around. Still no sign of Jenn or Hunt.

He shrugged and went for a table with a punch drink. He took a cup, poured himself a glass and just as he was about to take a sip, a hand yanked him by the arm into a tango dance. It was Samus, without her suit, but in a steamy red dress.

"Hello handsome." Samus said.

"Whoa, Sami!" a startled Jace giggled giddily.

"Got more information for you." She said, leading Jace into the tango. "Dip me." She said, and Jace dipped her. All eyes were on the new dancers.

Samus went on, "These 3D Marks can apparently be very dangerous." Samus said, "Rather, lethal." The duo moved their feet; Samus's red dress flounced across the ballroom. They struck another pause.

"If anyone gets exposed to this stretch mark," she went on, "they will end up being transported into the Final Destination. The void between our realm and yours."

"No way…" Jace exclaimed.

"Twirl me."

Jace twirled her. Another flashy pose before the audience.

"And if anyone gets into the Final Destination, there's no coming out… unless you challenge…"

They closed in, lips near each other.

"…the Master Hand…" Jace breathed.

"…yes." Samus purred dramatically, "…in a battle of life and death."

Short silence, "Dazzle me."

Jace dipped her and swayed her hips across his pelvis. The crowd got turned on. Finally the big finish, Jace twirled Samus and let go of her. The duo struck a pose. The crowd cheered and applauded.

A broad smile came to Jace's face, "Aw man this is so cool!"

Samus smirked, "The dance?"

"No, the fact that Master Hand exists in the Final Destination!" Jace said, "Now THAT is something I'd like to see."

Samus narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, sorry. The dance was cool too. Was it hot in here or was it just me?"

A little bit later, Mr. Stachio stepped onto the stage with Mario and Luigi and the crowd gathered before the trio.

"Good Evenin' everyone." He spoke, "I'm Mr. Stachio, celebrity, entrepreneur, fashion connoisseur _extraordinaire_, and NO! I am NOT called Miss Stachio! It's not a pun and it's not funny!" he barked as the crowd started laughing at that joke.

He cleared his throat and the quieted down again, "Anyway, I'm at your service with my two co-hosts of the night: Mario and-a Luigi!"

Loud cheers and applauds flooded the audience as the Mario Bros. stepped onto the stage.

"And we are-a proud to host tonight's Annual Fashion Gala!" Mario said.

"And as we get started with the runway show!" Luigi said, "We need to call on two very lucky attendees. They gonna get a makeover from yours truly!"

"Can I get Melanie Swaindell, and Nina Wentz?" Mario called on Jenn's best friends. The two girls squealed excitedly and rushed down to the runway to join Mario and Luigi.

"Thank you for coming to the gala tonight, ladies. We're gonna transform you into dazzling _princessas_!" Mario said.

Luigi magically pulled out of nowhere a bunch of pair of scissors. The girls' smiling faces slowly shifted to grimaces. "Let's-a get-a goin'!"

Luigi then magically pulled out three green pipes. Two of them swallowed the girls in it before Luigi jumped on the third pipe in the middle. Mario refaced the audience, "Now let's-a bring out the models! All of them will be wearing the latest and greatest from the Mushroom Kingdom line! They're to die for."

Mario ran back to the runway's backstage. The models started pouring into the runway, sporting all kind of wacky outfits like Goomba dresses and Koopa-colored top with shell skirts to match bags, glasses similar to Lakitus, and Mushroom colored summer hats. Then models came out dressing like Link and Zelda, and some bore jumpsuits the color of Samus's Power Suit, and coats matching the color of Pikachu's skins. Cameras flashed across the stage like the models were the rarest creatures too crucial to capture.

xXx

Back at Pac Micchio's place,

"I liked how you were able to possess Pac Micchio, the most hated man in the Nintendo community by Nintendo fans." Noir said to Nergal before the dull-looking analyst.

"See kid." Nergal leaned toward him and whispered, just as Noir shifted back so not to be touched, "This is why you should never underestimate a sorcerer's power, hm?"

"Just do your thing." Noir sneered.

Nergal then turned to the door before him, "Bring on the prisoners!"

Noir took his leave and went back to the party. At that moment the door swung open and Jenn and Hunt were heard screaming, brought before Nergal against their wills by DK who carried them over his shoulders. Diddy followed behind. DK dropped the tied up duo down before the sorcerer, who smirked.

"Fancy meeting you two here." Nergal greeted his uninvited guests. "Friends of the White Knight."

xXx

"That was pretty hot what you two did back there." Fox said to both Jace and Samus back at the gardens. The duo smiled.

"Yeah… don't do that." Falco scolded, "That was creepy beyond hellfire." The duo stopped smiling.

Pit laughed out loud, "You're just jealous 'cuz you can't dance."

Falco crossed his arms and pouted, "I'm not."

"We don't have much time." Samus said, "We need to get access to the rooftop larty and get rid of this 3D Mark."

Jace looked around, "Yeah but where are Jenn and Hunt?" he said, "They're nowhere to be found!"

"I thought you guys were together." Fox asked.

"Yeah but," Jace replied, "Jenn had to go talk to her friends. It's been hours since I last saw her; and funny thing with Hunt, I was talking to him and he just… pfft. Vanished."

Pit gasped. All turned to him as he bent down to pick up something on the ground. It was Hunt's iPhone, "Vanished?" he said, "Don't you mean…?"

Jace recognized the phone, "Hunt's iPhone!" he took it from Pit, "He couldn't have gone anywhere without it!"

"It means one thing and one thing only." said Fox with bated breath, "Your friends have been kidnapped."

All looked worried.

Jace shook his head, "Nah, it means Hunt forgot his iPhone." he said, "Seriously, have you seen his dress pants' pockets? So tiny to fit this."

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

The rooftop party was louder and more alive than any other places. And already it's been an hour and an half since the Smash Bros. came into the lively atmosphere. The statue of a beautiful supermodel made of fine glass and diamond graced the midst of the party. String of lights charmed the midnight skies. Glasses of champagne and delicious hors-d'oeuvres were shared among formal and fly party members.

A helicopter glided before the rooftop party, occupied by Fox, Falco, and the copter pilot.

"No sign of Hunt OR Jenn among the partygoers huh?" Fox spoke to Jace through a headset.

Jace was at the rooftop also, searching frantically for his cousin and his best friend. A Bluetooth headset was clipped to his left ear.

"Not even in sight." He said, looking around with bated breath.

Falco glanced at the staring pilot from one corner of the eye. After a second he turned to him and the pilot looked away, pretending to watch the sky.

"What?" Falco uttered, "Never seen a bird on a helicopter before?"

The pilot moved his eyes about nervously then shrugged and shook his head, "never an animated one on one that is actually moving."

Falco grimaced, "Ah-ha. Very funny."

"Guys, I'm worried." Jace said, "What if something happened to them?" he stopped pacing around, "Maybe the Nintendo villains are onto us."

"We'll still scour the area for any sign of them." Fox said to Jace, "They can't be too far. Who know, maybe they're with Mario and Luigi, trying to sabotage the beauty of Jenn's friends or something."

Jace could just imagine Mario and Luigi craving and hovering over Nina and Mel's hairs like vulture.

…

"Ooh, I love the color on your head, Ms. Melanie." Luigi, dressed like a barber said to Mel, playing around with a strand, "What is this fragrance, French vanilla? Lemon Zest? Lime Basil? Apricot Surprise?"

Mel blinked, "…uhh… ordinary shampoo?"

Luigi froze, blinking back frozen eyes after a long pause.

"Ohhhkay, that wouldn't do." Luigi pulled out a scissor and snipped the hair strand from its root. Mel squealed. "HAA, my hair!"

"What are you doing?" Nina exclaimed.

"Girl, please." Luigi showed Nina the hand, "Let the master of _coiffeurs_ and barbers work their magic. Beauty avengers?! Assemble!" he clapped his hands together and in came a troop of Toads strutting into the makeup room, followed by Mario. The troops stopped right in front of the stunned Nina and Mel with their back turned. They faced Luigi.

"We have a lot of work to do on these ladies." Luigi said to them, "We are gonna do an extreme makeover on their full head of hairs. I mean, just… lo and behold at the horrible work of art."

The troop turned around and gasped at the sight of their head. Before the girls knew it they started talking, whispering and jeering to themselves. Nina and Mel glared at each other than back at the troop.

"Hey, our hair is not that hideous." Nina hissed.

"And it's-a won't be for long." Mario said, "Beauty Avengers. Let's-a work on some magic!"

The troop huddled around the girls and went on snipping, clipping and shaving away on the terrifying duo.

xXx

"I must apologize in advance for pulling you out of your party mood and dragging you to your doom against your wills." Nergal said to Hunt and Jenn back at the private lounge of the building. His mangy sagging fingers danced among one another, "But this is important."

"OOH! OOH! HAAA! HAA! GRRRR! RROWL! HOO-HOOOT!" DK and Diddy angrily hooted, snarled and bared their teeth at Nergal; interrupting his speech.

"Mmh? Oh yes. Your blood reward." He said to them, "You want your precious potassium-loving food to satisfy your needs."

A confused, still panicked Hunt frowned, "What?"

Nergal glanced back, "I'm talking about their stash of bananas, smarty trousers."

"What is going on in here?!" Jenn growled, "What's the meaning of this? Can't you treat a girl with respect? I was supposed to be attending a really cool fashion show and rub them in Mel and Nina's faces, not be here admiring your creepy face."

"Ahh," Nergal blushed, "so you do admire it?" Nergal approached and gently ran a finger down her right cheek, "I admire your soft cream-skin one." Jenn pulled away, frightened.

"Hey leave her alone!" Hunt hissed, "She was being sarcastic!"

"I'm not!" Nergal voiced, "Nevertheless the Villains are not satisfied with our bargain until we are. So you're not getting you blood money until I get the White Knight under my claws. And his two friends will surely help me."

At this, DK and Diddy roared angrily in protest. Diddy ruffled his hairy skin and DK pounded on his chest.

"Oh so you're not leaving? Then you'll have to fight for it!" Nergal turned and called out from the room's far end, "KONG KINGS?!"

Immediately a wall crumbled before them and out came the Kong Kings: Dread Kong, Sumo Kong, Karate Kong and their newest addition Ninja Kong. They furiously pounded on their chests as smokes steamed out of their noses. Jenn and Hunt shivered at their sight.

"Pound your enemies to a banana pulp!" Nergal commanded, before turning to the still-possessed Pac, "Pac. You come with me. There is a fine young man I want you to meet."

Nergal walked away, pulling the hood back under his face again. The vacant analyst followed, "Yes. Yes I will." he said casually and followed Nergal.

"Mr. Pac Micchio! Snap out of it!" Jenn frantically cried, "You were supposed to HATE Nintendo!"

Hunt glared at Jenn, offended by her statement.

"…oh, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" she hissed.

The Kong Kings and DK and Diddy glowered at each other, cautiously waiting for one to make the first move.

"I can't believe we're gonna die…" Hunt wept, "…killed by animated Nintendo animals and not die as old folks lying in bed together!"

Jenn frowned by Hunt's statement. "I mean…" he stammered. He then shook his head, snapping out of it, "…oh! You KNOW what I mean!"

The Kongs went for the attack. DK threw a heavy backslap across Dread Kong's face, sending him flying. But Karate Kong jumped at him from behind. DK and Karate struggled until Karate ferociously bit his shoulder. DK roared, grabbed Karate and tossed him over his shoulder.

Diddy Kong ran around Sumo. Sumo turned, zipped, whizzed; trying to catch the speedy monkey but quickly lose him. Diddy then ran before Ninja Kong. Ninja grabbed him by the tail and violently looped him above his head like a nunchunk. The Ninja let go off Diddy then shot out his palm, sending him flying.

"The monkeys are in trouble!" Jenn cried out, watching DK and Diddy struggling with the pack of wild gorillas, "Should we help them?"

Hunt glared at her, "Are you kidding?" he hissed, "We should get out!"

Hunt and Jenn jumped to their feet and hopped for the exit, only to stop before the Sumo Kong. The Sumo Kong grinned before scooping them up from the ground. The duo screamed.

The Sumo watched a huge hairy ball come at him with such blinding speed he got slammed brutally by it he flew through the door, shattering it in splinters. The monkey let go off Jenn and Hunt and some of the splinters easily cut through the cords, freeing them both.

The ball uncurled and it was DK! DK jumped on Sumo and started pounding him. Then Karate flew at him with a kick in the head, pinned him to the ground. Then Diddy jumped on Karate and viciously tugged at his white ponytail.

"Let's get outta here!" Hunt turned to run, but Jenn yanked him by the arm, "No! We aren't getting outta here. I came here for one reason only, and that was to enjoy my fashion show evening and rub it to Mel and Nina's faces!"

"That sounds selfish coming from you." Hunt said, before looking over to Jenn to watch DK's hairy ball attack coming toward them again, this time with Diddy on top of him.

"Look out!" he ducked, pulling Jenn down. DK and Diddy slammed hard on the wall and both slipped into knocked-out states. "Oh no, DK and Diddy!" Jenn exclaimed.

The teens turned to the Kong Kings victoriously batting their chests before their turned on their heels and ran back into the fancy suite.

"Oh no," Hunt groaned, "_Now_ where are they going?"

Jenn and Hunt soon heard a piercing shattering sound. They ran back into the suite and saw a window in pieces; the uninvited wind came in breezing through the place.

"They escaped." Jenn concluded.

"Maybe they've gone home." Hunt concluded.

Jenn gasped sharply, "Or maybe they've gone to find Jace!" she turned to Hunt, "Nergal didn't captured us for nothing! It's a way to lure Jace!"

"But…" Hunt glanced confusedly at Jenn, "if they wanted to lure Jace, wouldn't they just wait here with us for him to rescue us?" Hunt argued.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR PHILOSOPHY!" Jenn ran back outside to DK and Diddy, "We're rescuing my cousin before anything bad happen to him." She grabbed DK and slapped him across his face till he was awake, "Wake up!" She does the same to Diddy, "We don't have all night!"

The two monkeys awoke. "Jace could be in trouble if we don't do something soon!" Jenn exclaimed, "Come on, monkeys! Let's go!" Jenn hurriedly marched on. Hunt followed, and so did DK and Diddy.

**xXx**

Back at the rooftop party, Jace navigated through Hunt's iPhone, trying on a composed face, "Maybe there should be a Find my iPhone App on Jenn's phone." he thought, "If I can…" he snarled, "… 'Browser Level Not Supported'?"

He pressed the right button on the phone and stuffed the phone back to his pocket, unaware that Pac Micchio was walking behind him. The analyst stopped to hear Jace grumbling under his breath, "Sheesh, no wonder people hate Apple."

A smirk appeared at the corner of Pac's lip, "Surprising to hear that phrase coming from a tech teen like you."

Jace turned around, amazed to see the hated analyst standing before him, speaking to him. "Pac Micchio?" he shook his head, "I mean… M-Mr. Michaels?"

Michaels said nothing. Jace's hands were shaking. He felt this mixture of shock, awe, appreciation and of course hate for the man speaking to him, he didn't even know how to respond.

"I…I'm surprised to see you here at this… at this gala." Jace felt his tongue parched. He cleared his throat, "…and you're speaking to me."

Pac shrugged, "Well," he said, "I can't talk to anyone I like? It's a free country after all. By the way, I am scouring the area for any _strong_ Nintendo supporters. I need their opinion on a few matters concerning the marketing schemes that Nintendo Corp. has been doing so far."

Jace no longer felt feared before Pac Micchio but furious and defensive, "Hey!" A finger pointed at the analyst, "Nintendo has been doing a great job! And the Smash Bros. showing up in New York City has been the best Marketing show ever created by them all right? So don't judge!"

Pac stared again. Jace quickly got shy again, "I… I mean, Mr. Pac Micchio sir."

"Let me invite you to a fancy private lounge and we'll talk… in private." A smirk appeared on his lips, "About your thoughts and analysis concerning the video game industry. Are you up for it?"

Jace fervidly nodded his head. He couldn't believe he was gonna be in the same room as Pac Micchio.

"My gentleman here Momo will escort you inside." Pac introduced Jace to a large bouncer wearing a midnight blue suit with a blood red tie. "Just follow his trail and you'll be safe."

Jace nodded in agreement and walked toward them. Pac stopped him, "Err…" he gently pulled out the Bluetooth headset from his ear, "You don't need this."

Pac stepped asides and the large bouncer escorted Jace away from the party. Pac turned to face a bowl of berry red punch. His eyes turned vacant again as he tossed the Bluetooth headset into the punch bowl.

Fox and Falco suddenly heard static on their headset. The duo exchanged worrisome glances. Fox tapped on the headset, "…Jace?" he called out but no response, "Jaaaace? Can you respond?"

No answer. Fox and Falco eerily stared with bated breath. Something was wrong.

"Excellent job, Pac Micchio." Nergal said to the still possessed analyst, "Now your work here is done, I need to be disposed of you."

"Ahh Mr. Michaels there you are." The voice of James Stachio caught Nergal's attention. Nergal angrily bit his lips. Pac Micchio turned to Mr. Stachio.

"I have been looking all over the place for you. Where have you been?" he then looked back at Nergal, still under his cloak besides him. His smile faded as he began sensing something amiss, "What's going on here?"

"What's going on," Pac began, with Nergal's voice, "Is that you are in my way." And Nergal raised his fingers toward a startled Mr. Stachio who stepped back. A ball of electric magic formed by the finger tip and Nergal shot the magic, striking Mr. Stachio's chest. Mr. Stachio flew away from his feet and slammed right onto the glass statue, averting the crowd's attention from the party.

Some party guests went to Mr. Stachio's aid and some turned to Pac Micchio and the mysterious hoodie person. Immediately security guards came after Pac and Nergal. Nergal dropped his arm down, and a thunderbolt struck the bodyguards hard till they went in smoke.

The crowd now panicked. But that didn't stop Nergal. His fingers danced and he outstretched his arm. The 3D Mark on the head of glass statue grew wide and swallowed the statue's head, then most of the statue's shards. Soon the guests and Mr. Stachio who were next to the mark got yanked off their feet and headed straight for the mark's orifice, like dusts before a vacuum. They fought against the force, shrieking like they were in a blooded hell.

The rest of party guests screamed as they too get clutched into the 3D mark's inhaling force. "CALL 911! CALL 911!" They screamed, fighting to stay alive. Nergal walked away with a smile, leaving his puppet behind.

**xXx**

Jace walked into the suite but saw no one was here except him and the bouncer.

"Wow, nice place you got there, Pac." Jace said, admiring the black abstract statue that went well with the ivory chesterfield and glass coffee table and the top-to-bottom windows overlooking the plaza and the city lights. But one window had a wide wall right above it and hung on it was a large TV screen. He spotted someone on an office chair staring out that window with the TV screen on the wall.

"And you sure move fast." Jace said to the person on the chair, "Seriously, I could've sworn you were like right behind me the last time we talked," he went on, not realizing the bouncer behind him removed his costume. It was Sumo Kong. Then Karate and Ninja Kongs joined him.

"Now I don't know how should we talk about our differences…? I mean don't get me wrong. You're like the most hated analyst by Nintendo fans including myself and I gotta say it's such an honor to be in the same room as yooooou…" he slowed down as the chair rotated to reveal Dread Kong sitting on it, with a TV remote on hand.

"…yoooooou're not Pac Micchio." He uttered.

The Dread Kong flicked the remote and the TV screen flashed on. Jace sharply caught his breath at a picture of the captured Jenn and Hunt on the screen.

He turned around, then froze, cornered by the three Kong Kings. Ninja Kong pulled out nunchunks with sharp spikes on both sides of the weapon, Karate drew out a heavy ball-and-chain, and Sumo slammed a foot hard on the ground, posing for combat.

Jace turned back to the Dread Kong who summoned an Axe before him.

"Okay." his voice barely came out as a squeal, "I'm officially in deep _baba_."

"RRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARS!"

Jenn, Hunt, DK, and Diddy raced down the hallway, frantically searching for their friend through every room in the building. Still no sign of Jace. Jenn's mind raced. Hunt fought to keep cool but couldn't. Anything happened to their cousin and best friend and they'll be devastated.

"They're not here!" Hunt protested.

"Jace, where are you?" Jenn shouted down the hallway before glancing over to DK and Diddy, "If we don't find Jace before these possessed Kong Kings do, he'll become mincemeat!"

An explosion of glasses rocked the hallway and startled the comrades. They glanced at each other with one accord.

"Too late." Hunt said with barely a squeal.

"COMEON!" Jenn hissed and the gang took off for the source of the noise.

Everything was now completely destroyed at Pac Micchio' GE Suite. Walls had holes. Floors were dented. The furniture needed replacements. Even the chandelier dangled on its last attachable wire. But that didn't stop the three Kongs, armed with their weapons to continue their beastly ravage through the room. Their murderous eyes scrolled around, searching desperately for the missing Jace.

"What in the Underworld are you waiting for?" Nergal barked at the four menaces through a holographic image of his head hovering in the air, "You can't find a measly teen in one HUGE suite?"

Jace was hiding behind a nearby sofa which was still hanging on its last leg. He threw a quick glance at Nergal. His heart was still pounding violently on his chest. "…Nergal." He uttered.

Karate Kong turned to Jace's direction. Jace quickly ducked. The Kong smiled then pointed at the sofa. "There!" he snorted, "Found him." He grinned.

Jace jumped out from behind the sofa, "No you didn't." he said. "I just lost a quarter."

"GOTCHA!" Dread Kong landed his axe on the sofa, halving it in two. Jace rolled from behind the sofa and then to another sofa. But the Kongs, knowing that sofa was the last sofa, slashed it also into two. Jace jumped out of his hiding place and looked around.

He turned to the Kongs in grave panic. He managed to smile, "H-hi, guys." his voice trembled as all three Kongs had him surrounded. "Great party huh?"

They pointed their weapons at him, "You owe us big, mister." Dread Kong threatened.

"Owe you?" Jace stammered, "Owe you what?"

"Our BANANAS!" Karate exclaimed.

"I don't owe you any banan—AAAAH!"

The Kongs swung their weapons down at him. Jace nimbly dodged the blows then end up standing before the menacing Sumo Kong. The Kong swept him off his feet, "Hey, what are you doin—?" The Kong twirled him in place, "WHOAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The Sumo finally swung his arms, tossing him across the room toward Dread Kong ready to swing with the axe like a baseball bat. Jace flew past the chandelier and at that last ditch effort grabbed it by its lamp.

He pulled himself up to the last wire of the chandelier as he swung over the Kong, dodging the axe swing. But the chandelier couldn't hold him much longer and snapped. He flew headlong, but with a quick recovery, rolled to a complete stop before a set of fireplace rods that was knocked down when the room got ravaged.

The Kongs approached. He picked a rod up. Ninja Kong descended on him with a mighty Nunchunk swing and cut the rod in two. Jace gripped on each half of the rods like Nunchunks of his own. The Ninja shot out more Nunchunk whips, danced in rhythm of the wheeling Nunchunks, bashing hard at Jace's half-rods. Jace heaved sharply, trying to keep up with the attacks. Any second proved a losing battle for Jace.

Then the door flew open and Jenn and Hunt came in the room, watching their cousin and best friend in trouble. "JACE!" They screamed.

Ninja Kong flipped into the air. A kick shot out, blasted Jace by the chest and Jace flew through the window where he disappeared into the night. Jenn and Hunt screamed. DK and Diddy pushed Jenn and Hunt back and charged at the menacing Kongs.

Karate Kong swung his ball and chain and dropped the massive ball toward the duo. Diddy nimbly dodged and scurried across the chains towar Karate. The tiny monkey gouged its eyes. The Kong let go off his weapon and clutched hard on its wounded organs, failing to see DK land two fat feet on his enemy's spines. DK quickly grabbed Ninja Kong and swerved a flurry a punches at his face. Jenn and Hunt ran to Jace's aid, hanging on the Building's ledge for dear life.

"JACE!" Jenn yelped.

"JENN! HUNT!" Jace cried out in panic.

"JUST HANG ON, BUDDY!" Hunt vehemently bawled.

Jace's eyes stretched out, "GUYS NO! BEHIND YOU!"

Jenn and Hunt whizzed back and watched Sumo Kong charging at them. They screamed.

A beam whip suddenly came from above, wrapped around the Sumo Kong's neck then yanked him off his feet and drove him to the far wall. Samus in her formal dress pulled her beam whip back and sheathed her weapon back in. She turned to the three heroes.

"Whoooooa, Sami!" Jenn and Hunt breathed at her stunning appearance. Samus, Jenn and Hunt helped Jace back up to the building.

"You're lucky Fox and Falco tipped me off." Samus said, "You'd be dead by now."

Jace let out a heavy sigh, "Thank you guys. Thank—!" He watched a huge priceless vase heading toward them. "LOOK OUT!"

The gang ducked and the vase went through the shattered window. The monkeys were still fighting.

Diddy danced around Ninja Kong who tried to use the rods on the monkey. As soon as his back turned, DK seized him from behind and pinned him in a suplex. Diddy proceeded to jump on the Ninja Kong pummeled him with a hundred hand-slaps then tossed a two-fists uppercut sending him flying out the window into the city skies.

Dread Kong came at DK with his axe and swung. But DK slapped it away and deliver a multi-hit combo of punches, Jungle Beat style. He then finished with a two-fist swinging uppercut, sending it flying through the room ceiling, where the party crowd was heard fleeing before the outstretched 3D Mark. The Dread Kong disappeared into the voice dark orifice.

"We did it!" Hunt cheered victoriously and so did everyone in the room.

"You may have won the battle but not the war, Super Smash Brothers." Nergal was heard speaking through the TV Monitor. All eyes turned to him, grinning with callous content, "Look again." The monitor quickly displayed the chaos at the rooftop, "People are panicking over the appearances of those abominations called 3D Marks. Soon, they'll become a thing of yesterday. And so will you."

Nergal's laughter echoed across the suite. The gang took off for the rooftop.

The gang finally reached it and watched the 3D Mark, now a huge hole on the ground, sucking on party guests like a massive vacuum. Jace, Hunt, Jenn, DK, Diddy, and Samus reached the chaotic place.

"All I need from you, White Knight, is what you possess dearly in your pocket!" Nergal shouted at Jace. Jace and the Smash Bros. gang shortly found Nergal standing on a table with his arms lifted up in glory and his gleaming eyes glaring at the teen. "The Third Dimensional Screen!"

"NEVER, Nergal!" Jace shouted.

"Very well." Nergal shot out his hands and the 3D Mark power augmented and more people got sucked into its voiding orifice. More screaming from the people. Pit tried to save a frightening large man from the 3D Mark but didn't have enough force, "Aww, man… why do you have to take on this much pounds? I'm just a kid!"

Pit slipped and the fat man got swallowed by the 3D Mark. Now the angel was fighting to stay away from the void, and so were the teens and the Smash Bros.

"If we don't do something soon we're toast!" Falco complained.

"We're already toast!" Jenn exclaimed, "We'll never make it!"

"Not for long." Jace shouted through the powerful gust. He then stuffed a hand to his pocket and yanked out the 3DS. Nergal smiled.

"YO, NERGAL! Or should I call you NERD-HALL? You want the Third Dimensional Screen? There!" he flipped its lip open, "Feast your eyes on THIS!"

He shot out his hand, the 3DS screen facing Nergal. The light suddenly overwhelmed the sorcerer and soon the entire place. He screamed in pain as he got swallowed by the light and the 3D Mark shrunk until it reached a microscopic size.

The light vanished and all was empty. The 3D Mark was gone and so were the partygoers. It was like an abandoned party after it got busted by cops. The teens and the Smash Bros. were still. They turned to the 3DS.

"Where are all those people?" Hunt asked.

The 3DS shone again and the 3D screen retched out everyone from the party to their biggest surprise. The device suddenly closed and the guests who were on the ground, started coming to their senses. They looked around, a mixed of shock and confusion painted their faces.

"Huh." Jace looked back at the 3DS and toyed with it as the rest of the gang stared in surprise, "I should have done that a long time ago." He grinned.

James Stachio awoke from his unconsciousness and watched the people in the same state as he was. "What the…? What's going on here?" he whispered to himself before facing the teens and the Smash Brothers. The gang tried to pretend to be surprised as much, but Mr. Stachio saw through them and approached them, fuming, "What's been going on here?"

No one spoke, but exchanged glances.

"I swear if I don't get an answer right away, I'll be hearing it from the police instead."

The gang watched the party people gathering around them. All appeared angry, traumatized, awaiting for an answer.

"W-Well…" Jace was at a loss of words, "See, what happened was that…!"

"You missed a show." Jenn said, "You missed quite a show. It involved _Circle du Soleil_ at their finest, latest acrobatic schemes with two world-renowned bests David Morey and David Copperfield."

"Yeah, they would've waited for a standing ovation but the duo magicians had to vanish." Hunt briefly paused, "…with the group! It was part of the illusion."

Mr. Stachio stared back at the group and all nodded in agreement.

"Oh! And it did involve the Super Smash Brothers." Jace said, "Now give them a big hand, ladies and gentlemen. Come on now!" he clapped his hands together and Jenn and Hunt started clapping also. Samus, Fox, Falco, Pit, DK and Diddy grinned and bowed, accepting the glory. Soon the traumatized crowd started clapping also. After a while, the crowd bathed in the cheer and their scattered applause produced vividly. Finally Mr. Stachio started clapping.

"Ugh…" the voice of Pac Micchio caught everyone's attention. He had a hand on his forehead and he slowly moved toward the gang with weary eyes. "…what's going on here?"

"And Pac Micchio was in on it. So give it up for Pac Micchio!"

The crowd cheered on wildly.

"Mr. Michaels?" Mr. Stachio sounded surprised, "I didn't know you were in on it."

"Huh… wh-what?" Pac blinked.

"You were supposed to be the most hated analyst in the world, and now look at you, throwing a stunt like that!" Mr. Stachio said to Pac, "You should be proud!"

Pac could see clearly now, "What?" he exclaimed. The crowd soon gathered around Pac and swept him up his feet, "Pac Micchio! Pac Micchio! Pac Micchio! Pac Micchio!" they cheered and praised him.

"HEEY!" Pac shouted, "Put me down! I'm not—! I DIDN'T DO THE THING YOU TOLD ME I DID! PUT ME DOWN!"

Jace let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, White Knight." Samus said to him, "Looks like you saved the day again."

Jace shook his head, "Nah…" he smiled, "_We_ saved the day again. Us, Super Smash Bros."

Hunt shook his head, "Uh-huh. No way, Jose. I'm not a Smash Bros."

"Oh come on!" Jenn laughed along with the others, "You so are a Smash Bros."

"No I'm not! And I never will be!" Hunt protested but that fell onto the laughing group's deaf ears.

Noir stepped into the rooftop and watched the party slowly but surely returning to its lively form again. His eyes narrowed, glaring with threatening intent.

**xXx**

"And… _voila_!" Luigi said victoriously. "Makeover is done! You look-a like a million-bucks!"

Mel and Nina smiled broadly at Luigi, "Really?!"

"Très… magnifique!" Luigi said, blowing a kiss to his fingers and flicked them in the air. "You wanna see?!"

The girls turned to each other, nodding and squealing, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Ye—!" Their eyes widened at the sight of each other's new hairstyle. "AAAAAAAHHH!"

Luigi casually pulled out two mirrors. Mel and Nina snatched them from his hands and finally saw their hairs. "AAAAAAAHHH!"

They felt their new hair. The strands were sticky, gooey, split ends everywhere and were shaped as voluminous curls, Diana Ross-style, with all bright red and shaded green colors.

"What… is this?!" said Mel in disgust.

Mario jumped in front of them on cue and swept his arms wide out, "It's-a _Mario & Luigi_ special edition hair color and highlight!"

Luigi swept his arms out as well, "With real jam and spinach smoothie!"

Then Toad popped out before them. "Not available at any store."

"But you can always buy _Mario & Luigi 1, 2, and 3_ at your local store near you." Luigi added.

"You poisoned our hair!" Nina hissed, not giving a care to the bros' marketing pitches.

Luigi shrugged, "Then go rinse it." He said, "Only fifteen minutes till it gets-a _Permanente_!"

Immediately the girls jumped out of their chairs and rushed to the makeup sinks to rinse the colors off their heads. They now stared in the mirror. Their colorful voluminous curls have turned white. And the curls were falling off their heads.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The girls ran past the Mario Bros. in a furious panic. Jenn stood before them by the runway stage. "Hi girls." She gasped at the sight of their head, "Ohhh my. What happened to your hairs?" she said sarcastically.

"I dunno!" Mel wailed.

"Maybe YOU tell us!" Nina hissed.

Jenn shrugged, "Maybe you were born with it. Or maybe it's May-_Boo_-Lline." She laughed out loud. "Get it. May-Boo-Lline? Cause you have the hair the color of a Boo skin! And they use May-Boo-Lline instead of Maybelline?!"

Mel and Nina rushed past Jenn furiously.

"Hey, c'mon! It's only a play on word!" she called out, but no reply.

Mario, Luigi and Toad rejoined Jenn as the trio laughed out loud and high-fived each other. "I can't believe you guys helped me pull that off! Thank you!"

"Hey! Anything for a friend!" Luigi said.

Peach came into a tray full of delicious cookies. "Who wants cookies?" she said and the gang went to get some bites.

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

Pat and Maple will help Link on his rescue mission for Zelda. New York will never be the same again. And Jace and Hunt change personalities?

There's gonna be a wedding between a mortal and a Nintendo princess. Peach is the maid of honor and she's also a bride! To Mario! Double wedding, maybe?

Thanksgiving comes early with Kirby! And Jace's mom is our special guest, and our hero has some explaining to do.

Warning! New Challenger Approaching! And she's quite eccentric.

Jace faces his worst nightmare!

November 18th episode will end in a cliffhanger. Who will survive?

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Legends in 3D_


	7. Ep5:: Legends in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

**Author's Note**: Brace yourself. This is probably the longest episode in this story.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Legends in 3D_

* * *

Link was running. He kept on running, pushing through the thickest of trees in a dense forest covered in mists swirling before him and keeping him away from a clear path that forced him to aimlessly run to heedless direction. He could hear the echoing screams of agony coming from a fair maiden in distress; a priestess of clear dawn, searching for her noble hero; circling around him like a constricting boa and not letting go… the Princess Zelda was in trouble.

Link quickened his paces, shoving through the branches and boots stomping hard on the flood of dead leaves. Then he stopped, standing before a clearing and he stared into the fading fog. A slender form in a royal guise materialized before him. He blinked as the form turned to him. At first, he thought he saw her. He thought he saw Zelda.

But then that form took a completely warped shape. A massive horse and a knight perched on top of it were now before him. The knight raised its head; blood-red eyes glimmered through the mists. Its lance slowly rose and pointed before Link. The horse started, hooves clattered through the dead leaves, then soon thundered the rocky ground.

Link backed up, turned around and started running. His breathing turned arduous and his muscles slowly seeped in fatigue. If only he had his blade attached to his waist, he would've confronted that black knight head-on.

He looked back. The knight was closing in. Its apparition turned clear and terrifying: Phantom Ganon!

The knight swung his lance across Link's torso and a startled cry shot from Link's lips as he fell into a fading abyss.

"Zelda!"

Link blinked back to reality. He was in a fancy bedroom suite at Jace's Imperial Suite of the Plaza. Ever since he and his fellow Nintendo friends ended up in New York City and met with the White Knight Jace, the latter and his friends were kind enough to let him and the others stay at the massive suite. Of course Jace ended up _earning_ that suite thanks to his rich celebrity mom last Thanksgiving.

He looked out the window to gaze at the colossal towers of New York and heard the busy cars honking and crowd-gushing of yet another day in the city. He sighed. He missed Hyrule. He missed Zelda. How could all this happen in such short time, he pondered briefly till he remembered his encounter with the Nintendo villains at the latest Smash Bros. games.

…the Third Dimensional Sphere

**xXx**

**The Nintendo World Store**

Link entered the store and walked past customers and employees without getting noticed. Then with a push of a button, a glass elevator slid open before him. He stepped inside and a Smash symbol appeared within the panel of numbered buttons. He pushed the button and after five seconds the elevator stopped at the destined floor.

The elevator opened and he stepped out into the MiiVerse Lounge, the secret hub of reprieve for all Nintendo residents, seeking to communicate with both the Nintendo world and the world it has been connected into since the Sphere incident that landed them in NYC.

Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Piplup and Tepig were spotted, playing with a large beach ball. Lucario was lurking by, minding his own business as Mew, Celebi, and Jirachi swept the air around him. Peach was serving some teas to some unknown _Animal Crossing_ characters; and Business Shrubs tried to make business deals with Shy Guys. All the Nintendo characters watched Link walking in and noticed the solemn look on his face.

"Aw, Link…" Peach approached him, "You look sad." A gentle smile appeared on her lips, "Perhaps you'd cheer up with my latest Cinnamon Regal Tea."

Link returned the smile and shook his head, "No thanks."

"Is something the matter, Link?" the voice of Dr. Dimentio caught his attention. Dr. Dimentio was Jace's uncle and he was in charge of the Lounge and looking after the Nintendo World and the Real World since the Sphere's disaster. "You don't look like your cheery self."

Link sighed, "I don't." he admitted, "I painfully miss Zelda. Last time I saw her she was fine, until the villains showed up with the Sphere and terrorized everyone."

"And we ended up here." Luigi added for him and he nodded.

"Don't worry about a thing Link." Dr. Dimentio said, "We're doing everything we can to find Zelda." He turned to the giant screen in the lounge, "She could be—!"

"—in the Nintendo World as we speak!" Link said out loud, "I can't be patient any longer. If you guys can't find her I will."

He turned to leave but was stopped by DK, Diddy, Samus and Fox, "Woah, slow down, Ranger." Fox said, "We can't let you jump into the wolf's jaws to rescue your princess. That's reckless!"

"We cannot afford to lose one of our numbers." Samus said, "We need to gather as many Nintendo citizens as we can so that we can claim back our world."

DK and Diddy hooted in agreement.

"I'm sorry everyone. But I can't wait this long!" Link pushed past the group, "I've heard Zelda call my name in a dream and she's in really big trouble. If I can't help her, then who would?"

Link walked away. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Dr. Dimentio called out. Link turned around, "I'm finding Ganondorf. I'm confronting him and I'm getting Zelda back once and for all."

And once again he stepped back into the elevator.

"At least try my cinnamon tea!" Peach cried out in persuasion, but no avail.

**xXx**

**_Back at the Plaza Hotel_**

Link waltzed into the Plaza Hotel and as usual his 3D animated appearance caught the attention of many visitors in the hotel. He turned to his right and approached two young ladies and best friends: Pat and Maple.

"Excuse me?"

Pat turned to face Link. A small smile appeared on Link's face, "Hi… I'm… I'm looking for something."

Pat couldn't even utter a word. Link. _The_ Link from the _Legend of Zelda_ games was actually speaking to her? She stared at him, frozen.

Link looked at her, noticing the effect he was having on Pat but not realizing why. He closed in on her and then around her, "Uhh… hello?"

"Uh…" Pat barely made a sound.

Link waved his hand to her face, "Helloooo?"

Pat shook her head, startled, "Oh, uhh… hello?" she coyly giggled.

Link dismissively shook his head, "Whatever." He walked past her, "I gotta go. Thanks anyway."

"W-wait! Wait a minute!" she grabbed his arm, but then stopped to stare at her hand around his chiseled animated limb. Her knees got weak and she quickly let go off him, trying not to lose balance or giggle too much, "…s-sorry. I'm…" she paused before approaching again, "I'm Pat." She said, "Pat…Turner." She giggled some more, "But you can call me Pat."

Maple couldn't help but roll her eyes a little.

"Okay… Pat." Link narrowed his eyes, "I'm looking for a princess."

A squeal almost broke from Pat's lips and she caught herself, "Oh my gosh" she exclaimed with her hands over her lips, "Are you talking about Princess Zelda?"

Link lit up at the call of that name, "Wh—you know her?" he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please tell me! Do you know where she is?"

Pat felt her knees weakening again, "…oh… yesss…" she drooled. "She's resting. In a special place in my heart."

Link blinked. He turned to look at Maple who simply shrugged. He then turned back at Pat, "You're kidding?" He let go off her and Pat came back to her senses. "This is hopeless." He said, "No way I'll be able to find the princess now."

"Wait, Link" Maple stopped Link before he could step away, "I know where she is!"

"Please." Link said, "Don't tell me she's resting in a special place in _your_ heart."

Maple shook her head, "No, no! I'm not _that_ stupid."

"HEY!" Pat gasped.

Maple placed a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder, "Relax." She turned back to Link, "Have you tried the Empire State Building? I mean, since the Battle in New York couple of months ago, I'm pretty sure the Nintendo Villains find that place to be quite a relaxing hub for their world domination."

Link blinked with determination, "This could mean Ganondorf could be residing there too. Waiting for me to get answers?" his eyes narrowed again, "And taunting me to do so."

He turned around and trailed off in a hurry. "Wait!" Pat exclaimed, rushing after him, "I'm coming with you!"

"Pat!" Maple gasped, watching her friend distancing away from her and toward Link. She ran in pursuit, "What are you doing? Stop! It's his adventure!"

**xXx**

**_Back at the Plaza Hotel_**

A young man with glasses and a baseball cap came inside the Plaza Hotel lobby. He looked around frantically, nervous enough to make people around him suspicious. His hand clutched hard on the backpack he sported over his shoulder. Jenn and Hunt were talking to a couple of girls when Jenn spotted the young man.

The young man failed to notice Jenn and thought the coast was clear; so quickly he departed for the hotel stairs. Jenn immediately recognized him.

"Hey, Jace!" she called out.

Jace was this close to cross the stairs when he froze. He turned around, sighing in defeat.

"I see you got your glasses back!" Jenn exclaimed, taking notice of his black thin frames on his face.

"I'm only wearing it because I can't find my special eyeglasses." Jace protested.

"You mean your contacts."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Potato, potahto."

Glyph suddenly popped out from behind him, startling the duo, " _I_ think you look _hotly_ sexy!" she ran her tongue across her lips and slammed her hands on his shoulder, "Meeee likey."

"Okay." Jace quickly pulled away from Glyph, "Please take your weirdness elsewhere, Glyph. Would ya?"

"Yeah! Leave us alone, would ya?" Jenn exclaimed, "We rescued you. Now stop stalking us."

"Okay." Glyph said calmly, before a Cheshire cat grin wrapped around her face again, "But remember our deal, peeps! Let me hang out with you and your secret shall be safe!"

"How about you go hang out with the villains." Hunt entered the conversation as he joined his friends.

"WHAT?!" they exclaimed.

"Why not? She'd fit right in." Hunt said.

"Oooh! Great idea… I'll roll!" Glyph giggled as she took off.

"Way to go Hunt." Jenn muttered at him, "You just led her to the Lion's Den."

"Who cares?" Hunt said, "You'd rather want her to hang out with us or be clawed into pieces by Bowser, Ganondorf and company?"

The teens paused before agreeing collectively.

"Anyway," Hunt turned to his best friend, "Jace. Now that you're back into wearing glasses…"

"For the last time, I've lost my special eyes!" Jace exclaimed.

"True, true." Hunt nodded, "BUT… I've decided that _I_ wanna take the path of being cool."

Jenn gasped. "Nooo." She mocked. Jace's eyebrow rose.

"What?" Hunt said in protest.

"Are you geeky _shinyuu_ for real?" Jace smirked.

"This… is sooo gonna be on the press!" Jenn said delightfully, "Hunter Long FINALLY wants to be a cool kid. It's like when a young boy is finally sprouting out of his baby shell, hence becoming a full-fledged man."

Hunt and Jace now stared at Jenn. "You mean puberty." Hunt said.

"That too." Jenn said.

Hunt sighed, turning back to the still-shocked Jace, "C'mon man. It was easy for you to make the transition from geek to chic. If you can do it, why can't I do it?"

"Sweet! Now we're talking fashion." Jenn exclaimed with glee.

"What happened to me was an impulse. Not by choice." Jace paused, "Wait… what am I saying." A huge smile appeared on his face, "It _was_ by choice."

"See?"

"Ooh! Can I help?" Jenn excitedly asked.

"Sure." Hunt replied.

"Heh!" Jace stopped Jenn, "Just as long as you don't go over-the-top on the fashion advices."

"Hey, I don't go over-the-top on the fashion advices!" Jenn exclaimed.

Awkward pause.

"Okay, fine. I won't go over-the-top on the fashion advices."

**xXx**

"Link, wait!" Pat and Maple were now at Madison Avenue where they spotted Link pondering over a hotdog cart. The cart vendor glared at him with fatigued eyes. The hot scorching afternoon was making him cranky and he wanted to crash-and-burn.

But that didn't bother Link a bit, as the Elven was taking his sweet time.

"Mmm…" he rubbed his chin with deep thought, "I see you have all kinds of… foods in the premise." he looked at the hot dog vendor, "Got any Lon-Lon Milk?"

The vendor's frown deepened, "…what?" he annoyingly breathed.

"What about fried Cuccoos or Goron Rocks…? Or Deku Seeds?" Link went on, "Not the kind that you shoot with a slingshot but the kind you can eat with?"

"Sir, I only sell hotdogs here. Just pick what you want! I do this for a living." the hotdog guy moaned.

Link blinked, "You do this for a living?"

The vendor still stared. Pat and Maple briefly glanced at each other. "Okay…" Link opened his small wallet bag attached to his belt waist, "how much is it?"

The vendor pointed him the menu board and Link read the price. "Hmm…" Link scratched the back of his blond hair, "…ahh… I don't have that kind of Rupees."

The hotdog cart raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"Here." Link snapped off the bag of Rupees from his belt and dumped the contents before the vendor. The vendor's eyes widened at the four blue, six green, and two red Rupees gleaming under the sunlight. "…ohhh my…" his eyes saw dollar signs like a slot machine.

The vendor, still hypnotized by the Rupees, served Link the hotdog. Link took the hotdog and departed. Maple and Pat ran toward the hotdog man.

"Excuse me sir, I am so sorry for him." Maple said to the vendor man, "Here. Let me pay you real money for—!"

"NO!" the hotdog vendor wrapped his arms around the Rupees and growled like a rabid dog on property guard duty, "It's mine! Begone from my sight, little girls! BEGONE!"

The girls scurried away from the hotdog cart. They glanced back to watch him laughing maniacally and rolling his body on the cart in glee, screaming, "I'M RICH! RICH I TELL YOU! RIIIICH!"

"Looks like he never seen Rupees before." Pat muttered to Maple who nodded in confirmation.

The girls ran to Link. "LINK!" Pat called out to Link. Link was about to take a bite out of his hotdog when the girls caught his attention.

"You girls following me?" he exclaimed, "Look, I don't know if you're aware, but the place I'm going is pretty dangerous. You said it yourself! The villains are in that Empire Building Place."

"But can you at least let us take you there?" Pat clasped her hands together with begging gesture, "Pleeeeeease?"

Link turned to Maple who shrugged, "I'd say no, but she's my best friend and I can't let her get hurt." She said to Link before a wide smile appeared on her face. So you get to take us both!"

Link sighed, looked up the sky, lost in thought, "Let me think… uhh…" he turned back to the girls, "No." and then walked away.

"WHAT?" the girls screamed, "OH, Come on! Give us a break here!" they chased after him.

A ten minutes trek from Madison Avenue, the gang arrived at Central Park. Link had finished his hotdog since then and has stopped his paces and turned to the girls who were gasping of breath, exhausted from all that walking, screaming and begging.

"Are we gonna do this all day?" Link asked the girls.

"…how… do you… even walk… that… far…" Maple heaved.

"I can't…" Pat squeezed her eyes in pain, "…I can't even see clearly. All I see… are spots…"

Link crossed his arms. "When you spend 25 years traveling across Hyrule on various adventures, you can go distance." Link smirked, "How about a challenge? A walk to that Battery Park place?"

"Wh… WHAT?" Pat hissed, "But that could take us 2 hours!"

"And now you know why I don't want you involved!" Link said before turning back, "…I need to find Zelda. And I don't want a couple of wannabes hindering my path."

"Actually, Link." A wise voice echoed among the trees, "I think you should need their guidance."

Link and the girls looked around. "Who said that?" Maple asked.

"It is I!" the voice spoke again from above. All heads turned up and there was perched on an oak tree a huge owl with its head screwed upside down. "Kaepora Gaebora." The owl spoke.

The girls screamed and hugged each other. "Why is that owl's head not on straight?!"

Pat briefly glared at Maple. So did Link. Kaepora's cocked his upside-down head on one side,

"…girl! It's Kaepora Gaebora!" Pat said, "Wisest owl in all Hyrule! Its head can do whatever it wants 'cause it's magic!" she let go off Maple, before facing the owl, "Sorry for my friend. She's not much of a _Zelda_ fan."

"No bother. Link." Kaepora Gaebora unscrewed his head back in place, "I want you to take those two girls to the Empire State Building. They may prove useful on your journey to find Zelda."

Link briefly glanced at the girls then back at the wise owl, "Okay, but why not someone with more prowess, like the White Knight, Jace?"

Maple melted at the sound of that name, "Ohh, Jace…"

"The White Knight, though he has potential, is not fit for this adventure and may attract the villains because of the magical 3DS he possesses." The wise owl went on, "Have those two girls with you and the villains won't get any more suspicious. They are nobodies to them."

"Nobodies?!" Pat didn't like that name, "I'll have you know, old owl, that I am a full-fledged FANGIRL, NOT a Nobody!

The owl ignored Pat, "The rest is up to you Link. Be brave."

The owl took off into the sky. "HEY!" Pat shouted at the departing bird, "Hey, get back here! We have more to talk about!"

Link sighed defeatedly before turning to the girls, "Come. Let's go. Just stay close." he started deep into the park's tight trees.

"Go?" Maple blinked back in surprise, "Go where?" she exclaimed as she and her friend followed the green hero further into the park. "I'll have you know that my parents and aunt don't approve of me going too far with a stranger! Well, you're not really a stranger but still…"

The forest trees soon got densed and their branches quickly blocked the sun. It wasn't a matter of time till the girls realized that Central Park didn't feel like Central Park anymore.

"Is it just me or do I have this dark feeling in my heart that we're not in New York anymore?" Maple swallowed hard.

"Watch out!" Link suddenly stepped back and shoved the girls behind him. What used to be a clean duck pond was now before them a swampy pool oozing acidic bubbles and a retched poisonous odor.

"What is…?" Pat stammered.

Bats suddenly hovered past them, frightening the girls. Link noticed the sky. It wasn't blue anymore but a poison violet blended by a dusky swirl.

"…to answer your question, yes, we're not in New Pork City anymore."

"It's New _York_." Pat corrected him.

_"Link…? Link…?"_ an old wise voice filled the air like a godly call. Link and the girls looked up. "_Can you hear me?"_

"God…?" Maple shuddered in fear.

_"It is I, Sahasrahla. I am communicating to you across the void through telepathy… the place where you and the girls are now standing in used to be New York City… but evil power has turned it into the Dark World. The wizard has broken the wise men's seal and opened a gate to link the worlds at the Empire State Building. In order to save this city, and rescue your beloved princess Zelda, you must win back the Golden Power, sealed within the Triforce, which its pieces you must collect… by traveling through time and space."_

"I can't believe we're actually listening to Sahasrahla, one of the wise men of the game _Zelda: Link to the Past_!" The giddied Pat laughed out loud, unable to rest on her toes.

Maple rolled her eyes, "Oh cut the crap, Sahara boy!" she shouted over to the skies, "You're not the wise man, you're Ganondorf, disguising your vicious voice as the wise man!"

"HEEEY!" Pat hissed at Maple, "Respect the wise man! He's trying to guide Link and us to rescue his beloved Zelda!"

"Actually, your friend is right." Link enlightened, "It's Ganondorf."

The dusky swirls that hung over the skies suddenly blended together and like an ink explosion filled the entire air red. A face formed from within and it was Ganondorf's. Pat jumped, screaming in fear.

"Well done, Link Boy and Maple Syrup." Ganondorf laughed in the skies. Link unsheathed his sword as the girls stepped back, gripping each other in fear. Maple frowned, "Wait… did he just called me Maple Syrup?"

"You got your correct answer." Ganondorf went on, speaking to Link, "Now here's the next question: where is Zelda?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Link said.

"Come to me. The Empire State Building." Ganondorf taunted, "You know where it is right? You'll get your answer there. Oh and by the way, I was not kidding about the pieces of the Triforce. You only have three hours to collect them all."

"Or what? The moon will fall?" Pat laughed jokingly. Maple and Link stared back at her, and so did Ganondorf.

Ganondorf shrugged, "Sure." He snapped his fingers and a flash of light suddenly overwhelmed the trio's sights. They briefly shielded their faces until the light wasn't too bright. The trio beheld the Moon. Its face carved into a monstrous façade glared at them from a distance. Ganondorf's face had faded from the skies and only his ominous laugh trailed behind.

"You have three days on the countdown to get the three pieces of the Triforce and your beloved Zelda from my claws. Fail your task and the Moon will crash right onto your beloved New York City, now a Dark World at your sights!"

"I thought you said we only had three hours!" Link shouted to the skies.

"Just do as I said…" Ganondorf barked, "…or else."

The sky returned to its bluish bright form, and the dark forest reverted back to Central Park. Maple glared at Pat and smacked her on her shoulder, "SEE WHAT YOU DID?"

The jaw-dropped Pat stammered, "B-but I thought it was a game!"

"Does it LOOK like a game to you?!" Maple hissed, "Our world is gonna end because of your crude joke! Oh god, what are we gonna do? I haven't even kissed a boy yet! And Jace was on top of my list of potential heartthrob boyfriends!"

"Honey, Jace is too old for you!" Pat barked.

"SAYS YOU!" Maple barked back.

"Let's go." Link said and rushed out of Central Park, leaving the girls behind. Maple cried out, "W-wait! Don't leave us hanging Link!"

"Wait for us!" Pat exclaimed as well and followed.

**xxx**

**-NYU-**

Jace watched his Computer Sciences professor passing back the graded tests. He observed the students. Most of their faces looked solemn and some were just blank stares and couple of sighs. They were also murmuring amongst themselves. That was not good news.

He also turned to the professor who was approaching with a grim look on his face. Totally not good news.

"Mr. Riders." The professor handed him his test, face-down.

"I did bad, did I?" Jace creased his forehead.

"See for yourself." The professor formed a faint smile. Jace waited till the professor walked away and flipped his graded test face up. His eyes widened, "Whoa."

"Now students, I understand that this was a pretty hard test." The professor spoke, lowering the saddened murmurs, "I mean, the average was a 68% and the highest score was a 90% which only one person managed to pull through. If you're that student, great job to you."

Jace looked back at the professor, then back at his graded test. That 90% was HIS test!

"So I'm gonna make this up to you." The professor went on, "I will curve your grade based on that average. So the 68% will be graded as a C-average. Anyone below that, please come see me and discuss possibilities of extra credit."

The faces of the saddened students lit up at that news and the murmurs turned to whispers of excitement. Still a chance for them to pass.

"Now, if you have any questions regarding the test we'll go over…"

The professor froze, his eyes watching the door of the classroom close and the person coming in. All students turned to his direction and so did Jace.

Hunt waltzed into classroom, dressed with a baggy urban shirt, reversed hat and low-wearing baggy jeans, with no glasses. All eyes stared at him.

" 'Sup." Hunt said with a tough voice, "Yo. What's-a-crackin-lackin, suckas?" he then turned to the professor, "Hey-hey, professor! How's life hanging?"

The professor was silent. He snapped back to reality, "Oh, Hunt. Yeah… uhh…" he shuffled through the rest of the graded test papers and handed them to Hunt, "Here."

Hunt reached for his test but instead of taking the paper started poking the prof's face. Students stifled by his action. Jace lowered himself on his seat, blushing. The prof moved his face away from Hunt, grabbed Hunt's hand and led it to the test.

"Oh thank you." Hunt took the test back and cheerfully waved it to the students, without even taking a bother to look at it, "Guess we know who got the best grade in the class now huh?"

The stifling students groaned, rolling their eyes, assuming once again that Hunt once again got what he wanted… and much more, obviously. Jace flipped his graded paper back face-down.

"Thank you Hunt, for voicing your great enthusiasm as always." The professor said with a faint smile, "And nice… getup. Moving on!"

Hunt walked back up the stairs to his seat, but not without tripping on the way and feeling tables and students' sleepy heads as he tried to locate it. Obviously, Hunt had poor eye sight and getting rid of his glasses didn't make that street gangster-rap look any better. Finally he located his seat: next to his best friend.

"Dude." Jace whispered, "I told you to look cool. Not look like a _bakayarou_."

_Bakayarou_ was a_sshole_ in Japan.

"Dude, that's what everybody is wearing these days." Hunt said.

"Only in prison!" Jace hissed, "Please tell me that Jenn did not put you in that getup."

"Brah, I only pick my own clothes."

Jace blinked. "Brah?"

"What? Isn't that what cool people say?"

Jace ignored that completely, "What did you get on your test?"

Hunt grinned haughtily, "Why do you wanna know, yo? You know I get 100% on all my tests all the time."

Jace laughed nervously, "…oh, not this time." He whispered, almost to himself.

Hunt looked at his graded test paper. His eyes widened. His jaws dropped. "80%? What the–?!"

Students gasped upon overhearing Hunt shoot out the F-word. Jace quickly grabbed _his_ graded test and stuffed it in his bag before Hunt could see it.

**xxx**

-**6****th** **Avenue-**

Link, Pat and Maple emerged out of Central Park into 6th Avenue, toward the Avenue of the Americas. It was a T-intersection that formed into a wide one-lane street, with more apartments than skyscrapers lined up side-by-side, with local businesses running fervently just like the flow of busy cars coming toward them before curving into the intersection. Some cars went to other intersections couple of blocks away, entering into either another one-way street or a two-way street.

The trio was by the curb. The Central Park trees were behind them. Link didn't mind being stared at by passersby who weren't used to see a green-wearing 3D animated swordsman in the midst of a busy city.

"So where is that Emperor Tower?" Link asked, his deep-blue eyes scouring his surroundings.

"Err… it's Empire State Building." Maple corrected Link before pulling out her NYC tourist map. Since she was visiting her rich aunt with her parents, might as well be one amongst the tourists: have a trusty guidebook and a map.

"According to this map," Pat rolled her eyes as Maple cheerfully examined her directions, "if we go straight down, we'll enter the Avenue of the Americas. So if we count our blessings and our fingers—!"

"Empire State Building is fifteen blocks from here." Pat interrupted Maple. "HEYY!" Maple complained but that didn't stop Pat, "Just go straight down and left to 44th Street."

Link unsheathed his sword. Passersby startled at the sight of his blade, "I'm on it."

Link ran into the street, toward the cars coming straight at him. "WATCH OUT!" the girls screamed. A taxi driver slammed on his break pad, just as Link leapt into the vehicle's rooftop. The elven swordsman jumped from car to car, truck to truck. Furious and paranoid drivers honked madly at him from their vehicles, but Link couldn't care less. His priority was getting Zelda. But he couldn't help but enjoy this little hopping game as it reminded him of one of his adventures where he hopped over rocks floating on Lake Hylia.

The girls followed him, running in pursuit at the curb. But Link was too fast for them. More and more buildings towered over them. Only this time they were less apartments and more corporate skyscrapers. The one-way street even got wider and more cars and people were spotted. Soon Link's hopping game on the vehicles grabbed everyone's attention. Jaws got dropped, fingers were pointed, cam phones took snapshots of Link in action.

"He's catching everybody's attention!" Pat shouted, "We gotta stop him!"

"I'M COMING FOR YOU ZELDA!" Link shouted. He leapt from a taxi, jumped onto an SUV, then somersaulted right onto the top of a bus.

Ganondorf's laughter suddenly crept into the air. The girls came to a screeching halt. Pat moved an arm by Maple's stomach, stopping her. "…wait." She said, "Do you hear that?"

"…yeah. That's my stomach. Haven't had lunch."

Pat turned to Maple, "What? No! That's Ganondorf's voice!"

Suddenly the ground began to shake. The citizens got tensed, sensing an earthquake was coming. Then a large snake-like body shot out from the ground. Gravels and rocks flew across the street, knocking down power lines and stoplights. The slithering creature stretched out 13 feet wide and weight 200 pounds. Its heads and body were punctured into nine holes, each shooting out massive flames. The beast roared.

Cars came to a screeching halt. Panic filled the streets. People dashed into every corner, buildings, behind nearby parked vehicles, just to get to any safe place. The bus where Link was stopped abruptly before the flaming beast. Passengers almost flew out of their seats before they started pushing each other out of the way just to get the hell out of there. The driver stared at the beast with widened terrified eyes.

_Hello again Link. You remember Volvagia? Used to be guardian of the Three-Eye Rock Palace? And the Fire Temple?_"

"It's supposed to be residing in a hot boiling environment…" Link gripped his sword tightly, "…like a lava spring or a volcano. Not under the ground of a city!"

Volvagia dove its jaws toward Link. Link jumped out of the way, dodging its attack.

_I summoned it._ Ganondorf said, "_Every great villain like me must do their jobs right to send their armies against you, no?_

Volvagia clapped its teeth at Link, trying to take out a bite out of him. But Link dodged every single one of its attack. Volvagia turned to an intersection and flew toward it, ravaging past the panicked crowd and destroying everything in its path. Link leapt off the bus and ran into the street the Volvagia turned into. His feet picked up speed, screaming out a battle cry.

"Follow that beast!" Pat shouted and went after Link and Volvagia, leaving Maple eye-widened. "Wh-what?"

"COME ON!" she screamed loud enough for her reluctant friend to follow.

The snake zigzagged through all streets it could find, whether narrow or wide. Link was hot on its trail, not losing his breath at all. But then as the snake turned to 34th Street, he paused.

Pat and Maple spotted a parked taxicab. No driver on sight. Pat tried to door. It was unlocked. She hopped in. Maple looked nervous. Pat grabbed her by the arm from the car and yanked her inside. She then jump-starts the car and took off, right when the taxi driver came out of the building. The driver screamed for his car back.

Link looked up to a skyscraper and pulled out a hookshot. He shot the hookshot right into a skyscraper, shattering its window and scaring off the people inside. Link flew into the building and ran across an office full of cubicles. Employees watched, staring at Link hopping from cubicle to cubicle, till he entered a single office. He ignored the startled CEO there and the window washer nearby. He looked out the window. Volvagia was spotted. He ran toward the window, crashed through it, grabbing the rope suspending the window washer's platform. The duo screamed as they swung over the dragon's head.

The beast left 34th Street and reached 5 th Avenue. There were more cars and people by that intersection. More people screamed and scattered. Drivers stopped right in the middle of the streets and left their cars out in the open before the great beast. Volvagia looked around and spotted two cars, a bicyclist and an SUV with a young family inside. All of them screamed at the sight of the beast. Volvagia was ready to jump at them when Link on the window washer platform charged at the beast from the side, knocking him to his back.

Link was out of breath. The window washer fled for his life. Link unsheathed his blade and paused, glaring at the beast. Volvagia hissed again. It was at the moment that Link let out a final cry, jumped over the beast, drove his sword into the beast's stomach and tore it from the neck down. Volvagia roared in pain, as green lizard guts spilled off his stomach and all across the street like an oil spill. Half of the citizens, and cars and building windows got covered in the substance.

The flames quickly died off Volvagia and the beast's strident hiss turned to a tiny whimper until it could no longer move. The busy noises of New York soon came back on. The noises of ambulances, fire trucks, police patrols, and the commotion of people who had to witness this terrifying experience, gradually faded into the scene.

Link removed his blade off Volvagia. Pat and Maple on their taxi arrived before the dead snake. They parked the car and got out of it.

"Oh my gosh, Link…" Pat uttered at the sight of the dead beast.

"…what… did you do?" Maple said in a low, shaky tone.

_Congratulations, Link._ Ganondorf's voice filled the air again. Only this time, Link, Pat and Maple weren't the only ones looking up. Panic fell on the citizens at the dark lord's ominous voice.

_You've defeated Volvagia… again. But do you know where you beloved Zelda is? And what about these three pieces of the Triforce I've been asking you oh-so-nicely to find for me._

Link didn't listen. He reached for the dragon's intestine and pulled it out. He squeezed all the green guts from the intestine, until something heavy and metallic fell to his feet. He dropped the intestine, picked up the object and wiped the guts off it. It was a piece of the Triforce.

"I got what you wanted." Link said at a normal tone level, as if talking to himself. Finally he looked up the sky and shouted, "Now, where is Zelda?"

_Why should I tell you where Zelda is? You have two more pieces of the Triforce left._

Link looked to his right and there he saw a wide building of concrete cement and mahogany color. The building was like a base to a much larger tower, which towered over all the other skyscrapers he could have come across. He noticed the writing at the base building and it said, _Empire State_ . He could only guess the obvious.

"The Empire State Building."

_Go find them,_ Ganondorf bellowed again, _and I'll let you know where Zelda is. Or the world as you know it will fall._

"Not when I'm ahead of you." Link jumped off the monster and ran into the building, pushing and shoving people out of the way.

Pat tried to follow him but Maple pulled her aside, "No, Pat. We've caused too much trouble already. We can't follow Link anymore." She and Pat noticed a slew of policemen, ambulances and fire trucks closing in. Their doors soon opened and released their workers into action.

"Look what we did! What _he_ did!" Maple hissed.

Pat yanked her arm off Maple, "He didn't do anything, Maple. Zelda is in trouble and so is the entire world and it's all Ganondorf's fault. And my fault too. Now I thought it was a game, but turns out it isn't. We have to help him."

She went for the building, but Maple didn't budge. She crossed her arms, "Well, I'm not going. You go yourself."

Pat narrowed her eyes at her, "Really?" she said, "What if it was Jace, the love of your life, who was in trouble and I kept you from that building where he was being held? Now how would you FEEL?"

Maple squealed and stammered. The thought of Jace being captured was like a hammer to her sensitive bone. "W…I… I don't… WHO CAPTURED JACE?!" she pointed furiously, "_Nobody_ should capture my Boo!"

"Come on." Pat quickly yanked Maple and they ran into the building before the police could even block access to it and the street.

**xxx**

"Can you BELIEVE the gall in that professor? Giving me… a smart kid… an 80%?"

Hunt and Jace strolled down the Washington Square park avenue of NYU. Students passing by couldn't stop staring at Hunt's street-thug look and Jace's geeky appearance. It felt like a whole twisted version of _Twilight Zone._

"Dude, it's only a B." Jace said, "…well, actually an A-minus after the curve. And did you have to flick him?"

"He deserved it!" Hunt hissed, "Sheesh, I wonder who that guy is who got 90%?" Hunt said, "I'd swear I'm gonna—!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jace barred Hunt with an arm and stepped in front of him, "Please tell me you did NOT buy a gun."

A smirk passed off Hunt's lips, "Brah, chillax. I didn't buy a gun. I don't even have a license for it yet." He raised his shirt to reveal a gun-shaped weapon tucked on his waist, "I borrowed Falco's laser gun. 'Cuz I'm about to blast that toupee off his head in under one hour. And I'm sure Falco won't miss it."

-…-

Back at MiiVerse, Falco made a lot of noises on his parked Arwing, searching furiously everywhere for his laser and drawing Nintendo onlookers' attentions. Fox and Jenn approached him.

"Err… Falco? What'chu looking for?" Fox asked nervously.

"My gun." Falco squawked, looking around. The gang could see a drip of nervous sweat on his forehead and his beak biting his lower lip, "Somebody must have stolen it."

"W—whatever you do," Jenn exclaimed, "don't—!"

"Hey, everyone!" Falco shouted all across MiiVerse via a megaphone, "If you see a laser gun, tell me, make sure you don't touch it 'cause it's armed, and—!"

The crowd screamed and ran, scattering around the square in panic. The gang watched hopelessly the panic filling the MiiVerse. Falco lowered his megaphone.

"…announce it." Jenn hopelessly finished her sentence.

-…-

Back at NYU,

Jace grinned nervously, "Yeah… I'm sure no one will miss it."

Hunt looked over Jace's shoulder, "Oooh! Get me a whole piece of this lady chocolate over there." Hunt licked his upper lip, his eyes glittered.

Jace looked back. There was this beautiful girl coming their way: light-brown skinned, wearing a mini-yellow dress, a tiny jean-colored jacket, cowboy boots. Her wavy light-red hair with highlights framed her beautiful young face. She was surrounded by a couple of fair-skinned girls about her height and curvy form; most of them were blonde and beautiful, like supermodels.

"Hey, isn't that—?" Jace pointed at the light-brown girl.

"Simone." Hunt said her name dreamily, "The most popular girl…!"

"…in our high school." Jace finished, "And she's in our college. Isn't it weird that no one knows her actual last name?"

"Rumor has it that after she joined the cheerleading squad since the 7th Grade, she got too cool for it, she had to drop it." Hunt said, "She stayed popular ever since."

"And now that rumor is spreading to college."

"And this year, I want her."

Jace looked back in surprise, "Whoa, dude! Have you _met_ her? She's _way_ out of your league!"

Hunt hunched back, "Whaaat?" he laughed, "Please… have you met _me_? And especially in this outfit?" he pointed at his outfit again. "Helloooo?"

Jace blinked behind his frames, "Have you seen yourself? Besides, you need me to talk to her for you."

Hunt shook his head, No need for your help, son. Just watch the master of _love_ at work." Hunt pulled out a mouth freshener, shot a couple in his mouth and grinning, walked toward her like a playa.

It didn't take long for Jace to cringe, watching Hunt getting beat up by her. Hunt returned to his best friend, badly slapped, bruised, with half of his shirt torn, and his pants tucked to his head. The laughter of students filled the park.

"Okay… time for Plan B." Hunt muttered.

"I talk to her?" Jace asked.

"You talk to her."

**xxx**

**-**Link entered the Empire State Building's crowded lobby. People scattered around in panic. Volvagia's appearance has caused them panic. Link pushed through the crowd and went for an elevator. He furiously pressed the button but the elevator didn't open. He couldn't wait any longer. He turned for the stairs just as the elevator opened up. Maple and Pat entered the lobby as well and spotted Link going for the stairs.

"This way!" Pat said and followed Link. Maple reluctantly trailed behind.

Link crossed the staircase and busted through the nearest door he could find, only to see the room before him had transformed into a dungeon-like chamber. There was a weak bridge suspended over a pool of hot boiling lava. The bridge had no ropes to the side to hold on to, and there were swinging wood trunks swaying back and forth across the bridge, waiting for the unfortunate crosser to get struck by it really hard. The room's temperature was 115 degree.

Pat and Maple showed up at the same moment and stopped dead before the obstacle in front of them.

"You two again!" Link exclaimed.

"We're all in this together!" Pat said to him.

"She said it, not me!" Maple exclaimed.

Link turned back to the bridge, "All right, we need to cross this bridge."

"Cross it?" Maple exclaimed, "How are we gonna cross this—!"

Link jumped into the bridge and stepped forward to the other side all while avoiding the swinging woods. He reached the next door.

"…like that, I guess." Maple uttered.

Link turned to the girls, "Are you all coming or not?"

Pat and Maple stared below at the pool of lava. The girls whimpered. Maple took the first step, so did Pat. One, two, three more steps, they paused before a swinging wood. The wood swooshed past them. They crossed it then paused before another wood. They zipped past the wood also.

They quickly moved to three more woods, but then one wood slammed at Maple's side. She toppled over. Pat grabbed her by one arm as Maple hung over the rope with the other. The two girls screamed at the sight of the lava below them. Pat quickly pulled her friend back to the bridge, seconds before another piece of wood charged toward them. They ducked screaming, then scurried across the bridge in a panicked speed. They end up joining Link to the other side, out of breath.

"See," Link smiled, "It's not that bad."

"Yeah… when you're not suspended sixty feet over a pool of lava!" screamed Maple.

The trio entered the next chamber. Unlike the previous one, that chamber had vines and leaves covering the ceiling, and there were two weak woods crisscrossing each other as bridges leading to two chambers. One led to a locked door, the other to a crawl space with a treasure box inside. Below the pit was a fifty feet drop to a pool of snakes and devoured vermin.

"Ew! Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew-ew!" Pat hid behind Maple. Maple cringed, "Nasty…"

Suddenly a large snake leapt from the pool of snake and snapped its jaws at Link and the girls. The girls screamed in panic. Link unsheathed his sword, "Stand back." He said before swinging his sword at the snake. The snake barely dodged the attack and plunged back into the pool.

"You know what girls. You stay here. I'll deal with this." Link ordered.

"Wait a minute," Pat grabbed Link's arm, "you're not dealing with anything alone! We're here to help you through thick and thin!"

"Okay." Link said, "Then you want to help me cross over any of these bridges?"

Pat let go off Link and stepped back, "It's all yours."

Link rolled his eyes and stepped on the piece of wood. "Be careful." Maple said to him.

Link tiptoed on the piece of wood. The terrifying snakes hissed and clapped their teeth at him, but he tried his best to ignore them. But then halfway through the wood, a large snake head, like an anaconda leapt from the pool and chopped on the wood. Link lost his footing and was now hanging on to a wood splinter. The girls screamed.

"LIIINK!"

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

"LIIINK!" the girls screamed for Link.

"Be careful!" Maple exclaimed.

Link had one hand on the wood splinter of the tiny wood bridge while the other hand held firmly on his sword. Another snake leapt from the snake pool for a bite at Link, but Link swung his legs over to the bridge surface, dodging the attack. He stood back on the bridge. Another snake leapt toward him. Link swung his sword at him, slicing its head off. Blood splattered everywhere as the dead snake descended back into the pool. Link turned back and tiptoed quickly to his destination. He finally reached the other side.

The girls cheered and hugged, jumping up and down. "You did it, Link! YOU DID IT!"

Link noticed the crawling space was the size of an ant hole. "Great. And I thought it was bigger from afar."

Link turned to the girls, "You girls go ahead and wait for me by the locked door."

The girls stopped smiling. They looked down at the clapping jaws of the snake pool, and the other tiny wood bridge leading them to the locked door.

"Are you kidding me now?!" Pat screamed.

"What if we get chopped into two? YOU almost go chopped into two!" Maple exclaimed.

Link magically pulled out two feathers and a slingshot. "Here, catch!" he pulled the sling rope and let go. The feathers landed right into the girls' hands. "They're Roc's Feathers. Use them to fly over the bridge no problem."

"Sweet!" Pat said. "But how do we do that?"

Maple waved the feather over her head and suddenly wings grew over her armpit and sides. Maple leapt over the bridge and flew over it, "Wheeeeeeeee!" she squealed as she reached the other side to the locked door.

"Guess that's how we do it." Pat waved the feather over her head also, transformed, and joined Maple in the flight. "YAHoooooooooo!" she squealed as well.

Link turned back to the ant-sized crawling space and pulled out from his pouch attached to his belt, a small potion flask. "Minish potion." He popped its cork open, "Hopefully that will work."

Link swallowed its content. Before he knew it the crawling space was like a huge cave hole, standing before him. Link went to the other side. Nothing much but a two treasure chests. He opened the first one and there was a key.

[TA-TA-TA-TAAAAA!] The Treasure revealing fanfare was heard echoing in the chamber. Link looked around in response to the sound. "Whoa… talk about Deja-vu."

He proceeded to open the next treasure chest. A smile appeared on his face as he pulled the object out of the chest.

[TA-TA-TA-TAAAAA!] The song played again as he uncovered the second piece of the Triforce.

"Yes! Only one more piece of the Triforce left!" he turned back to leave, "I'm coming for you, Zelda. Hang tight."

Meanwhile the girls waited for Link by the locked door. Maple turned to Pat, "You don't think these snakes devoured him do you?"

Pat shook her head.

Suddenly a flash of green light blinked in front of the girls, and there was Link before them. The girls startled.

"Sorry." Link said, "Just used the Farore's Wind." He waved to the girls a green crystal with a shimmering orb swirling inside.

"Did you get it?" Pat asked him.

Link smiled, "Yes! We have a key! And the second piece of the Triforce!"

The girls cheered. Link went for the locked room and inserted the key inside.

"Just one more piece of the Triforce and we'll be able to save Zelda!" Pat exclaimed.

"And then I can go back to the Plaza and cry home to my mommy." Maple felt the tears building in her eyes already.

Link unlocked the door and the gang proceeded to their next destination.

**xxx**

About seven hundred students filled the university park; chattering, laughing, simply hanging out under the shade of many freshly green trees towering under the summer sun.

Jace looked around, passing by them, ignoring their unfamiliar faces. There was only one face he was looking for.

He stepped over a curb when he stopped, eyes unable to be averted from her. He found her. Simone.

She was with her posse, all blondes but their radiant beauty seems to be throwing a million of shimmering lights onto the erupting fountain where they hung out. But Simone? Gosh she was hot. The fiery wavy hair with highlight… that smooth chocolate skin of her glowing under the sun… She was like a goddess, even after high school.

Jace swallowed hard, frozen in place. Every time he saw her, his heart will ache and a great longing fire of passion would lit up his soul like a burning kettle. His lips will dry and he would sweat a lot, even in the wintertime. He dated a lot of girls in high school and yet none could make him shake like Simone.

But he made a promise to Hunt that he'll talk to her for him. What a crazy promise he made! No way he could talk to her. She was way out of his league! Even crazier in this situation is Hunt setting his sight on this bombshell. Hunt, of all people! If it was Brad Pitt-if he was young of course-he would understand, but even him couldn't step up like a man to talk to HER!

But he had to do it. He descended down the steps and walked up to her.

"Simone!"

Simone turned to him. Her smile seemed to have vanished at his sight. Jace stopped, only about seven feet from her, like she froze him in place. He got sweaty again. She was glaring back at him, as if digging into his very soul to examine if the person who dared call her name was either human or a leech.

Finally her face relaxed and a bright smile came, "Well if it isn't Jacen Riders! From our high school!" she spoke a thick Californian accent. Simone was born at the Hollywood Hills of LA with a rich family. No wonder she acted like she was all-that.

She furiously slapped the fountain concrete inches between where she and her girls sat, "Come seat! Come seat!"

Jace only approached three feet then said, "I'd rather not."

"Why not? I don't bite." she said.

"Yeah, she doesn't bite." agreed one blonde.

"Except freaks and geeks and Caesar's Salad." another blonde added.

"Now she bite those hard." the third blonde confirmed.

Jace's eyes widened under his glasses, just as the girls giggled in harmony. "Oh don't listen to them Jace." Simone said, "They're just jealous. You're the cute geek. You're an exception."

"Yeah…" Jace said, almost dismissively. Can't argue with Simone there, but he had a mission to change her mind, "…about that."

Simone tapped the spot next to her again. Jace hesitated, but he was too much of a good guy to refuse the gesture; so he took her invitation and sat with them, wedged between the glorious vixen and her gleaming blonde squad.

"Simone." he swallowed again, "You're really cute… I mean, you're really hot… But I was wondering if you could do me a—I mean, OFFER me a favor?"

"A favor huh?"

"Yeah see, y'remember my best friend? He's really shy and completely totally dorkier than me, y'know, with the glasses and all, but he's really cool. See the thing is he's trying to change his image and he wants to see if he and you could hang out together, you know… go to the movies, have a picnic, he'll love it."

Simone paused, "Oh…?" she and her girls exchanged teasing glances. Were they making fun of Hunt? Or HIM?

"Look, if you don't want to, that's fine." Jace said quickly, "Just… say the word and let him down easy to my face and I'll give him the message. Whatever you say, no harsh words, okay?"

"Jace!" Simone placed a hand on his shoulder. Jace felt static by her touch. "Say no more, I'd love to go out with this friend of yours."

Jace stared back in shock. She actually agreed to it. "Really?" he said, "You… go out… with him? You, Simone with no last name?!"

Simone laughed, "Of course! Now believe me or not, I've been crushing on him for like… ever!"

Jace's eyes twisted into a grimace, "Really? You, Simone with no last name?" he said again. Of all the hunks and heartthrobs she could find, she had actually settled on a descent guy like Hunt.

"Yeah! I mean, he's smart, he's gorgeous, he speaks three languages…"

Jace watched them citing together the good qualities they could find about Hunt. He still waited for her to scream gotcha or say something really sarcastic. But nothing. That was stunning of her as not many hot girls would go for Hunt, except her.

And yes, Hunt was all that: smart, good-looking…

Waitaminnit! His eyes widened. Hunt only spoke two languages: Japanese and English. Why would she think he spoke three? Unless…

"…and he goes to the same university as I am!" Simone finished.

Jace's olive pupils slowly scrolled away from deep thought and fixated on Simone. She batted her eyelashes and her girls continued to tragically giggle. A bad sign was coming.

"Err… Simone." He chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness, "Hunt doesn't speak three languages." he corrected her, hoping to hear her say that she was wrong.

"I'm not talking about Hunt, honey." Simone stared with bewitching thoughts. Then the blonde trio closed on him from behind, chests feeling his spine, legs crossed before his, barring his possible escape. Simone had already pressed her body up close to his chest. His heart hammered in anticipation.

"I'm talking about you." her soft hands cupped around his face. She was not even crushing on Hunt! She was hot for HIM! Her lips pressed hard onto his before he could register this moment. He gasped into the kiss and Simone took that opportunity to deepen it. The girls' laughter filled the sensual background as if taunting. But he didn't care. He kissed back. Lips wrestled with each other, their bodies dripped in summer sweat danced on contact with each other, chest heaving and heart pounding like they were about to shoot out like cannonballs. That spark of pleasure was totally arousing…

"HEY!"

A furious scream shattered the fantasy. It was Hunt! Jace yanked from Simone's enchanted kiss, but too late! He saw him! All over his lady! And obviously the entire park crowd was there, as if they had been watching this entire time!

The group turned to Hunt's direction. Luigi was there with him also, and he too looked shocked and appalled.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU-!" Hunt stopped short and started toward his best friend, all while hanging on to his beltless loose pants and trying to watch where he was going with his blurry vision. Luigi guided him away from a couple of obstacles, lingering students and blind and handicap folks passing by until they finally reach the group.

"What the hell is this?!" Hunt shouted out again.

Jace stared back, baffled. "whoa…dude…" he began, staring back at Simone who was batting her eyelashes and flirtatiously waving back then quickly turned back to Hunt, "It's not what you think…" he paused, "…and you just said the H-word."

"I DON'T CARE, SON!" Hunt shouted out, "You was just hittin' on mah woman!"

"Dude, no! I wasn't!"

"Mnh-Mnh…" Luigi said, shaking his head in disapproval.

"I saw you!" Hunt barked again, "You was schmoochin' like all over the place!"

"Dude, I…" he hesitated. He did saw him, "…I was just trying to talk to her about you!" he exclaimed, "…and why is your English all over the place?"

Simone placed a gentle hand on Jace's shoulder. Jace felt static at her sensual touch, "Lemme handle this." she said enamorously to him before threateningly stepping before Hunt. She ran a slap across his face. Luigi's jaws dropped and Jace cringed, wet under his armpits. "Ohh boy."

"Oww…" Hunt held on his bruised cheek.

"This is for almost hitting on me earlier!" she snapped at him, "Besides I'm the one who should be talking to mah man, pal! Not you."

"B-but Simone…!" Hunt said, almost whimpering, "YOU'RE mah woman! And I love you and you love me…! You feel me? You should be fawning over me!"

"Scoffs!" She scoffed, "Please. It's Jace Riders! Have you seen him?" she turned back to Jace and caressed his muscular arm, then wrapped her arm around it, "He's too cute not to be fawned over. Especially when he plays hard-to-get."

"No I'm not." Jace quickly said.

She turned to Hunt with a disgruntled look, "But you, you're just a gangsta from the ghetto." Soon the girls circled around Jace and giggled in agreement and feeling his touch.

Jace just stood there, blushing under all that glory. He nervously turned to Hunt. He wished he could break away but he couldn't; he really _was_ too cute for them not to fawn over. He couldn't blame them.

"G-guilty as charged…?" he shrugged, grinning nervously at his fuming best friend.

"Mhn!" Luigi shook his head, arms across his chest, "I can-NOT believe this." He said, "When Hunt called me for an emergency about an incident, I thought-a it was about Falco's laser gun but noooo… it-a was to catch his BFF in a _promiscua atto_!"

_Promiscuous act_ in Italian.

Hunt paused uncomfortably, "It _was_ about Falco's laser gun." he muttered to him. Luigi stayed silent.

Jace broke from the girls' touches and approached Hunt, "Wait… What is it about Falco's laser gun?" Jace whispered to him. But Hunt got eerily silent, staring guiltily with eyes on the floor, "… Hunt?" Jace asked, his voice almost raising in alert, "What did you do?"

The horrifying cry of their Computer Sciences professor echoed across the university park like a gong at the stroke of the new hour. All heads turned to the direction of the scream… utterly confused yet concern. Then soon they all watched campus safety officers rushing to the source of the scream in a stampede.

"Oooh… that doesn't-a sound good…" Luigi uttered.

Simone's eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of Luigi, "Ohhh my gosh…" Soon all of her girls turned to Luigi and all squealed with excitement. Luigi at first didn't get it but when they say, "It's him! I can't believe it's HIM!" and the squealing elevated, a smile grew.

Simone and the girls left Jace and all rushed over… then past Luigi! Luigi froze. He turned around and saw the girls circling around Mario. Mario blushed. Luigi's jaws dropped.

"Oh, hee-hee…" Mario giggled, "'ello ladies." he spoke his Italian accent, which made the girls shrieked at the sound itself. "I just love it when you talk all Mario!" one of the girls said. Then another, "I cannot believe that you are actually walking in our campus." Then another, "I mean we didn't believe it at first when you showed up with the princess and all your Toad friends and all but, here… you… AARE!"

The girls continue to squeal and shriek.

Luigi's face blanched. "But what about me?" he wept. Fox, Falco and Yoshi who were also with Mario managed to leave Mario with the girls and watched besides Luigi from the side. The group noticed Luigi's frozen glare and trickling tears.

"Wow…" Falco said.

"…why am I not surprised?" Fox sadly said.

"Girls fawning all over Mario again." Falco added with Yoshi agreeing with a saddened, "Ohh…"

The gang then turned to Hunt and Jace, "So if I see this and I put two-on-two together, best friends Jace and Hunt are what Mario and Luigi have always been: spotlight rivals." Fox added.

"One always gets the fame-and-glory. The other one gets squat." Falco added.

Jace raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Exactly." Hunt agreed before turning to his best friend, "You always get what you want, Jace: a glasses-free life! No retainer! Popularity in middle school, high school, then college with your Smash Bros. posse to help you out, and now a girlfriend in SIMONE-!"

"Wait a second, Smash Bros. was an impulse! I never wanted them in my life!"

The Nintendo characters gasped, taken aback by what Jace said. Jace quickly exclaimed, "…wait, guys. That's not what I meant! I love you all!"

"Enough to make me jealous." Hunt muttered.

"Oh, come on man!"

"I knew I should've trusted you!" Hunt barked, "I finally gets a new makeover and it backfired on me. I get a low grade, people make fun of my look and now the love of my life is leaving me!"

"Dude," Jace was now frustrated, "you look like a dwarf in that outfit, Simone never loved you, and would it kill you to at least accept a lower grade in your life?"

More gasps from the Nintendo characters. Only this time they weren't the only one gasping. The whole college park inhaled in shock as well.

…

…

Dead silence. Even the birds were quiet, as though dead.

Jace had his hands over his mouth, realizing the hurtful thing he just said to Hunt. Hunt's eyes twitched. The corner of clenched teeth were showing.

"Dude…" the terrified Jace slowly approached his best friend, "I am so… so… sorry. I never meant to-!"

Hunt ripped the sleeves off his shirt, kicked his shoes off and cracked his knuckles. Jace stammered, "…wh-what are you doing?"

"Let's brawl…" Hunt hissed.

The crowd was building up across the campus and students and faculty all exclaimed in collective agreement for a brawl.

"…wait, you want to brawl…?" Jace shook his head, "No…"

"Oh are you scared?"

"I'm scared that I might break your spine with just one finger."

"Maybe… maybe not, considering you haven't been working out lately, when was the last time you did work out? Oh yeah… When your daddy DIED!"

The crowd roared in shock. Now Jace's eyes were twitching.

"Oooooh…. He said the D-word." Fox exhaled.

"Oh no he di-int." Falco uttered.

"You bringin' my daddy into this?" Jace's voice was low and haunting.

"Oh yeah he did." Mario said.

"This looks bad…" Luigi uttered.

"You bringin' my daddy into THIIS?" Jace shouted again, before pulling out his magical 3DS and flicked it open, "…oh, it's on."

With one strike to the touch screen, the entire campus transformed into **Smashville**. KK Rider was playing in the background a catchy Latina tune.

Once again the crowd was watching from their floating benches. Fox, Falco, Yoshi and Simone and her girls were among the cheering crowd. Jace and Mario, and Hunt and Luigi stood facing each other on the platform. And once again the two goofy hosts were heard.

[GET READY TO SMASH MELEE AND BRAWL! HI EVERYBODY, TRE HERE (that's pronounced: _Three_)!]

[AND I'M YOUR HOST, DEEN!]

[AND WELCOME TO _SUPER SMASH BROTHERS_!]

[WITH KK RIDER PLAYING FOR YOU HIS LATEST HIT 'KK Salsa']

KK hummed his Latina song in harmony, with some Animal Crossing character dancing the salsa in the background.

[NOW HERE'S THE DEAL OF THIS BATTLE: THIS IS GONNA BE AN ALL-OR-NOTHING MATCH: A TEAM MATCH, 1-STOCK, 100% STARTING DAMAGE METER BRAWL AND ALL ITEMS!]

[THE USUAL STANDARD MATCH]

[AND AS ALWAYS—!] Tre opened his palm and the Smash Ball floated right above his hand. The crowd oohed at its majestic sight, [THE REGAL BEAUTY OF THE SMASH BALL WILL ONCE AGAIN TAKE POSITION!]

[AS ALWAYS, SCORE YOURSELF MORE POINTS, INCLUDING STYLE POINTS, AS YOU GIVE EACH OTHER A GOOD-NATURED PUMMELING THAT ENDS WITH ONE OF YOU, FLYING OFF THE SCREEN.]

[AND BECAUSE THIS IS AN ALL-OR-NOTHING MATCH WITH ONE STOCK EACH AND NO TIME LIMIT, THERE WON'T BE ANY SUDDEN DEATH]

The crowd groaned.

[BUT STILL ENJOY THAT GOOD-NATURED PUMMELLING OF THE FACE!]

The crowd cheered again.

"Doesn't matter." Hunt said, glaring at Jace, "I'm still gonna be wiping the floor with your face!"

"And which face would that be?" Jace then paused, staring in space in thought, "…wait. That came out wrong."

"Remind me why am I here with you?" Luigi asked Hunt.

"Because we outcasts need to stick together and teach these spotlight robbers what's like to rob them of their success!" Hunt exclaimed.

"I always-a share my success with Luigi." Mario said, "But it is-a sad that he is too _pollo_ to face Bowser."

The crowd gasped. Luigi saw red and ran toward Mario, but Hunt pulled him back. "Wait, not until the hosts give the signal."  
[READDDY… GO!]

The crowd roared again. Luigi and Mario went at each other's throat. Hunt looked around, totally confused, "Wait…? Did you match started?"

He looked up and saw Jace above him, then felt a heavy punch across his jaws that sent him flying. The crowd gasped.

"This is for talking smack about my Dad."

[OH, A LITTLE REVENGE RIGHT THERE, THE TASTE OF SALSA! AND HUNT HAS IT BESIDE HIS LIPS.]

[THAT'S BLOOD.]

[MORE LIKE A HOT BLOOD.]

Hunt wiped a blood cut off his lip, "Yeah?" he growled, "Well, this is for stealing my girl!"

[HUNT IS GOING FOR THE ROUNDHOUSE PUNCH! OHHH! AND JACE JUST MISSED THE SPECIAL DELIVERY, KNUCKLE SWISHED PAST HIS NOSE! BUT IT'S NOT OVER AND DONE FOR HUNT AS HE'S COMING HIS WAY WITH A BARRAGE OF PUNCHES AND KICKS!]

Hunt swung another roundhouse then a jab, a flip, a twist, but Jace moved and swayed, dodging every blows coming his way. The crowd got excited. The two BFFs jumped back as a bunch of items magically appeared before them.

[OH, NOW HUNT IS GOING FOR THE ITEMS!]

[CAN OUR OPPONENT AVOID THE BARRAGE OF EXPLOSIVES COMING THEIR WAY?]

[BUT WHAT'S UP WITH LUIGI AND MARIO?]

[THEY'RE JUST WATCHING.]

Hunt turned to Luigi who quickly snapped back to reality and went for the items. "Well, hurry up and help a partner out, dangit!" Hunt shouted.

"I'm on it!" Luigi scooped all the items and Hunt ravaged through them. He then tossed a banana peel. Jace jumped over. Hunt tossed a fan and Jace hunched back, a bat—he hunched to one side, a sword—he hunched to another side, a Pitfall—he bent back, a Motion-sensor bomb—he ducked…

Mario tapped on Luigi's shoulder, [WAIT… WHAT IS MARIO DOING?] Mario surprisingly grabbed Luigi by the chest. The crowd exclaimed as he tossed his bro to the other side. [WHOA, TALK ABOUT A REBOUND.]

[BUT THAT WASN'T EXCITED.] Luigi recovered and watched Mario waving giddily at him. He growled.

[WAIT A MINUTE!]

Hunt went for a Bob-Omb and launched. Jace twisted to the side and watched it travel at Luigi. KABOOM! The green plumber flew off the screen and the crowd went wild. Hunt stared, gaped, with a Bob-Omb on hand also as he was about to throw it at his opponent also. Mario seized that chance.

"Heads up!" Mario called out to Hunt and tossed a Smart bomb at him. Hunt jumped back, startled. The Bob-Omb left his grasp and onto Jace's hands. The Smart Bomb landed to his feet. "SHOVE IT!" Jace shouted at Hunt before launching the Bob-Omb at him. Hunt ducked and the Bob-Omb struck the Smart Bomb, suddenly catching Mario in the blast. The impact knocked back Jace and Hunt while launching Mario off the screen. The crowd roared with excitement and so were the two hosts.

[OHHHHHH! THAT'S GOTTA BE HURTING! THAT'S GOTTA BE HURTIN'!]

Jace recovered and watched his partner fly off the screen. The crowd cheered on.

[AND IF YOU THOUGHT THIS MATCH COULDN'T GET ANY BETTER…]

**xxx**

"I'm hanging on thin ice here!" screamed Pat, who was finding a hard time to cross through the other side of an ice chamber, suspended over a bed of sharp icy picks. The temperature was less than zero, and tears overwhelmed the frightened girl's eyes. This particular room was full of icy spikes below and there were no bridge-strong or feeble-icy or non-icy-to cross over it. So they had to go around an icy wall using the closest ledge they could find. And a ridiculously thin and slippery one was their only option. Maple and Link have managed to cross over no problem. But Pat was right in the middle, hugging the icy wall and bawling.

"They don't call it an ice chamber for nothing." said Maple.

"We're wasting precious time here." Link said, his eyes peering the distant door leading to possibly the next chamber and Zelda.

"Oh sweet Jerky, Pat. Can you like HURRY UP?!" Maple screamed. "before the Moon actually falls?!"

"DON'T RUSH ME!"

"Hey, YOU'RE the one who insisted that we follow Link." Maple exclaimed, "And here we are, following Link!"

"Don't rub it in to my face!"

"Use the Roc's Feather." Link called out to Pat.

Pat blinked at him, "The Roc..." a smiled beamed to her face, "Hey that's a pretty cool idea."

Pat pulled out the Roc feather and it transformed her whole body into a winged person. Wings attached to her arms she took off from the ledge and descended to the other side, rejoining Link and Maple.

"Whoo! I did it!" Pat squealed.

"Yeaah!" Maple clapped and hugged her friend, "I knew you could do it."

"Really? 'cuz you called me a wet chicken."

"Enough talk, we move." Link said before proceeding to the next door. The girls followed, "We must brace ourselves for this next puzzle. Should be the last one to Ganondorf and Zelda."

The trio entered the next chamber. They saw another treasure chest, smackdab in the middle of the room with dimmed torchlight around the wall with a skylight with the sun beaming a spotlight on the chest. The ground was all marble flooring. And the next door-a large door carved with a monster orc face on it-was waiting to be unlocked. There was nothing more but that treasure chest.

"Well, looks like that last puzzle is gonna be a cakewalk." Pat said.

"Or a Cakerun!" Maple ran for the chest, but Link shouted, "Wait, no!"

A marble tile suddenly vanished under Maple's feet. Maple almost fell. She stepped back and almost fell through another hole, then another hole, then three more holes before her. She screamed and ran back to shore. The marble tiles returned to their normal, illusionist form.

"A mirage." Link said.

"That was way too close." Pat said.

"That's gonna be a hard surface to cross and get to the last piece of the treasure." Maple said.

"Any of you girls wanna try flying?" Link asked them.

"I'm on it." Pat volunteered. She spread her winged arms up, flew for the chest, but her body got electrocuted after barely made it 5 feet from the starting point. The impact launched her back to the platform, black smoke and the smell of dry burnt meat escaped her now charcoal-like skin.

"So I guess flying is prohibited here either." Link said.

"ow..." Pat groaned in pain.

"I can't believe we have to figure out this puzzle without guidance." Maple complained. Link rubbed his chin in thought for a minute before his face suddenly lit up. "Wait a minute. We do have guidance."

Link magically pulled out his Ocarina from behind his back and played the Zelda Lullaby. Pat and Maple watched him, briefly lost to the music. Seeing Link play the Ocarina before them instead of inside a TV screen was so surreal. It was like standing before a celebrity. They sighed as if in love.

"I'd never thought I'd see the day you'll play the Ocarina for me..." Pat cooed.

Link turned to her. "Oh. Sorry. It's not for you. It's for Navi."

"Navi?" Pat said, almost in disgust.

A gleaming ball of light with shimmering wings of silver approached Link from afar. "I'd knew you call for me, Link."

"Urgh... that Navi." Pat uttered.

"We're trapped. Can you please light us the way?" Link asked.

"Anything for you." Navi replied and swept into the room with ease. Pat was hoping to see her get fried by the thousand of volts hugging the air in the room but nothing. Navi's light suddenly enveloped the room and half of the marble tiles were revealed to be holes. The real tiles formed a oddly familiar shape of a bird, with its beak leading to the treasure chest. The puzzle reveal tune was heard.

"A loftwing!" Maple exclaimed.

"From Skyward Sword. What are the odds?" Pat laughed.

Link crossed the marble tiles based on the bird shape, heading for the beak. He reached the beak and the treasure chest. The girls and Navi cheered. Link opened the chest and uncovered its content.

[TA-TA-TA-TAAAAA!]

"The last Triforce piece!" Link exclaimed as the girls leapt up and down in celebration.

A shimmering glow filled the marble tiles and the holes, reverting the floor back to normal.

"Now we can walk through the chamber!" Pat said.

"Come on, let's go." Maple and Pat ran to join Link by the monster-carving door. "THANKS NAVI!" Maple shouted to the fairy.

"HEY, Listen!" Navi called out, "Don't forget to take a break from all that adventuring! It's important!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Pat said to her dismissively.

The girls reached Link at the door. Link noticed a triangular hole on the forehead of the monster in the door. "Looks like we know what the three pieces of the Triforce do."

Link magically pulled out the three pieces of the Triforce, put them together to form the Triforce and slipped the Triforce into the triangular hole. The monster glowed briefly before falling into pieces. The door was free.

_Well done, Link._ Ganondorf's voice filled the air again, _You've retrieved the Triforce pieces and stopped the Moon's advances. But can you defeat me and get your beloved Zelda?_

"Wait, I thought we were supposed to get the Triforce pieces, AND get Zelda to stop the Moon's advances." Pat scratched her head, "What kind of game are you playing with us, Ganondorf?!"

Link ignored Ganondorf and Pat, turned on the doorknob and creaked the door open. "This is it."

"We're gonna be facing Ganondorf." Maple said.

"Or someone tougher than him." Pat swallowed hard.

Link turned to the girls, "Girls. I appreciate your presence here, but this is my fight now. So let me..."

"NO!" Pat blocked Link before he could stepped through the door. "You're not doing this alone. This is our fight too. We're all in this together."

"Not me." Maple objected. Pat glared at her friend.

"Oh for the love of jerky," Maple hissed, "don't even THINK about playing the Jace Card on me again! You know how I feel about-!"

"Your future husband being in danger?" Pat said. "Come on!" she dragged Link into the boss chamber with her. Maple groaned, following.

xxx

Back at SmashVille, Hunt dove at Jace but Jace tossed him over his head. Hunt landed firmly on both feet and turned with a spin hook kick. Jace caught his leg and flipped him over. Hunt was about to hit the ground when Jace struck his abdomen with a Kung Fu back fist, sending him flying. Hunt broke his fall in midair and back-flipped for the platform when Jace warped over him and drove a hammer blow to his spine, sending him oblivion.

[OHHHHHH!] The crowd wildly cheered, [THAT IS SOME MARTIAL ART ACTION WE SEE BETWEEN THESE TWO BEST FRIENDS. BUT ONLY ONE COMES OUT A—WAIT A MINUTE!]

Jace waved victory to the crowd, unaware that Hunt jumped back to the platform from hanging on a cliff. He wasn't defeated. The crowd gasped even KK Rider almost stopped playing his salsa song.

[LOOKS LIKE IT'S NOT OVER—!]

Hunt threw an Elephant Kick.

[OOOOOOH!]

Jace bent down in shooting pain, head flushed red, hands over his crushed nuts.

[that's gotta hurt…]

"Searin' Pain…" Jace wobbled back and forth, "Searing paaaain…" he fell on his knees.

[LOOKS LIKE HUNT IS READY FOR THE BIG FINISH!]

Hunt flew at Jace with a flying kick; a finale cry escaped his lips. [BUT WAIT…] Jace rolled backward as Hunt flew over him. [JACE RECOVERED FAST!] Jace jumped back to his feet and grabbed him from behind in a suplex. [HE JUST CAUGHT HIM!] Hunt fought to break free, but Jace arced his back and slammed Hunt headfirst to the ground. The crowd gasped. Hunt was left dazed.

[AND A BLOW IN THE HEAD HUNT RECEIVED]

[BOY, JACE RECOVERS FAST.]

[I DUNNO ABOUT YOU, BUT HE MUST HAVE A STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM.]

[OR A STRONG SHELL]

Jace jumped over Hunt and formed a fist, he was ready to punch Hunt out cold. "AAAAHH…"

The anger in Jace's eyes suddenly left him. The battle cry suddenly died away in his throat. He stood there, staring at Hunt who was still angry and furious.

"Go ahead." He taunted, "Finish me already. It's what you've always gotten right? You get the good looks, you get the girl, you get the real Smash Brothers before anyone else, and lo and behold you get the victory. Go ahead!" he turned his head away, "I don't care anymore."

There was a moment of silence. Anticipation built in the crowd. The hosts watched with sheer excitement. But Jace uncurled his fist. He sighed, got off Hunt, and stepped back.

"No contest."

The crowd broke in exclamation and interrogation. This time, KK Rider has stopped playing his Salsa.

"Y'all heard me. I said no contest."

[W-WAIT A MINUTE. JACE IS GIVING UP THE MATCH? BUT HE'S HALFWAY FROM ACHIEVING VICTORY!]

"Yeah?" Jace smiled before turning serious, "Well, I'd rather suffer defeat than lose my best friend over a stupid fight." He gestured his hands, indicating the match was over. "I'm done." He walked away.

Hunt was left astonished, unable to respond to Jace's sudden action to just give up the battle for his sake. But he had to admit it was turning bad. The crowd of people felt bad also by what happened. They were so caught up in the excitement of the brawl, they didn't realize how serious it got. Silence briefly fell on the stage.

"HEEEY!" Luigi cried out from among the crowd. He appeared bandaged, walking on crutches with a cast on his left leg, a gauze over his right eye, and neck support, "Is this how you're-a gonna end the match? By being a coward? BOOO! Hunt, you shoulda slammed a Hammer on his spine when you had the chance!" he pointed at a Hammer that was currently flickering on the stage, seconds before it vanished.

Hunt let out a sigh, ignoring Luigi who was getting booed at by the crowd.

**xxx**

Back at the Empire State Building,

Link, Pat and Maple entered a very similar place.

"The Empire State Galleria?" Maple examined the paintings and the statues around the grand galleria of New York.

"We were supposed to battle Ganondorf, not return to modern day New York." Pat exclaimed before sighing in defeat, "Come on, let's get out of-!"

"Wait a minute!" Link called out to Pat. Before Pat could exit, three sharp spikes shot from the ground before her, blocking her way. Pat stepped back, "What the-!"

The gang looked around. The Galleria has morphed into the painting room of the Forest Temple from Ocarina of Time. The windows overlooking the city became large painting of creepy dark forest and cemeteries and this time there were no windows.

Ganondorf's laughter echoed. Link readied his sword and shield. The girls hugged close to Link like frightened puppies.

"Ganondorf." Link growled. "Where is Zelda?"

_Link, help!_

Link turned around and saw an unanimated painting of Zelda, posing like Mona Lisa with no smile. Her cry came from that painting. _HEELP!_

"Zelda!" Link approached the painting but Ganondorf came out of the painting instead, this time, riding a dark horse and wearing a skull mask.

"Zelda cannot hear you anymore." he said. Link and the girls stepped back at the sight of the floating mounted Ganondorf before them.

"Phantom Ganon?!" Link exclaimed.

"And she won't be the only one." Phantom Ganon swung his lance and a lightning strike suddenly coursed through the girls' bodies. They shook helplessly at the attack until they vanished into adjacent paintings. Soon their cries of help filled the chamber along with Zelda's.

"NO!" Link shouted.

"Now we can fight fair." Phantom Ganon laughed before he too disappeared into a painting. Link swung a blade at him but missed.

"You want to fight fair?" he exclaimed, "Come out to me and let's fight fair!"

Horse hooves were heard pounding the ground. The noises soon closed in on Link. But Link couldn't find the approaching phantom "Sure..." the phantom gloated, "Let's fight fair. If that is your wish."

Link turned around and watched the phantom on his horse flying over his head. A lightning bolt shot from the sky again and struck Link. Link went on his knees in pain. Phantom Ganon returned into another painting, laughing again.

"Where is your comeback attack, Link? Thought you wanted to fight fair. Then do it, fight fair!" the phantom laughed out loud. Link magically pulled out his bow and arrows and waited as the phantom laughed again.

"Oh believe me. I will, Gerudo demon." Link growled.

**xxx**

"I am so, so sorry, Professor. I hope the laser gun explosion didn't really do much damage. Who knew guns like this could even overheat and explode?"

The professor's face was completely covered in wrapping gauze and band-aid. Only his stern brown eyes stared back at Hunt with contempt. Hunt no longer sported his swag outfit, and has returned to his regular self. He felt so much at ease to be back in his usual sweater vest, shirt and dress pants. Heck; his frames were back to his face also.

"You don't have to apologize to me, Mr. Long." The professor said, "I should be apologizing to you."

The professor went for Hunt's previous test paper and tried to pick it up from the table, but his hands were all wrapped up in bandages and found it difficult to do so. "err…" Hunt finally picked it up. "I got it. Who should I…!"

"It's yours Hunt." The professor said, "You didn't deserve an 80%. I made some mistakes while grading your papers, and you and Mr. Riders were the only ones affected. You got a 90% instead."

"Sweet." Hunt grinned broadly.

Jace entered the class just in time to hear the professor. Jace was no longer looking like a geek and was back in his swag form and no glasses. Curious he approached the prof's table.

"So what did Jace got," Hunt asked, "if you don't mind me asking?"

The professor turned to Jace and pushed his exam paper across the table to him, "Got an 79%, Mr. Riders."

Hunt turned to Jace, a bit shocked by that. Jace took the revised exam grade; he shrugged, "hey, whatever."

"Like I said, Hunt. No need to apologize. It's the criminal who did this to me who should be apologizing to me for the damage." The professor sneered, "All of my final exams documents got destroyed in the explosion." He sighed, "I have no choice but to cancel the final exam. Instead you'll be writing a paper on the difference between stacks and queues in Java and C++ programming."

There were collective sighs of excitement in the classroom at the news, and all winks secretly turned to Hunt. Hunt couldn't help but grin a little. His bad boy rep may have gone wrong, but at least it left out one good thing: no final exam.

"Class dismissed." the prof declared and the quiet classroom quickly got filled of chatters as students began to disperse out.

"Looks like all's well that ends well, huh." Jace said to Hunt before a smile appeared to his face, "At least you passed."

But Hunt wasn't smiling. He looked back at his exam, "…yeah, but…" he turned to Jace, "…but what about your 90%? You don't have it anymore."

"I'm sure I'll get it next time."

Hunt paused, no longer walking. Jace was already by the door when he noticed his friend wasn't following. He turned back to him, "Hunt?" he approached, "Dude, aren't you coming?"

"I can't do that." Hunt pulled out a pen from his pocket and scratched his name from the exam. He then wrote down _Jace Riders_ right above his scratched name, then took the other exam from him. He does the same with his test, only this time, replacing Jace's name with his own.

"Dude, what are you—?" Jace blinked, "…what are you doing?"

"You deserve the 90% and I deserve the 80."

Jace grinned, "It's 79. It's no big deal."

"Well, it is to me." Hunt exclaimed, "Look Jace. I'm sorry for all the mean stuffs I said to you. And all that fighting... I..." he shook his head, "I was a complete jackass! You're my best friend. No, scratch that. You're my brother and I shouldn't have said what I've said!"

"Hunt…"

"No, it was uncalled for. You were right. I'm too much of an overachiever and when I tried to be like you, y'know, all cool and hot and becoming a chick magnet starting with Simone it was because…well, because I was jealous of you."

"Hunt, dude, you don't have to—!" Jace stopped. He turned to look at him straight in the eyes, "…wait. You were jealous of me?"

Hunt nodded.

"…I was jealous of you."

Hunt's eyes widened, "…wait. You?!"

Jace nodded also.

"But…but you're Jace Riders, the cool guy!"

"And you're Hunt Long, the overachiever." Jace said, "And besides, I'm the one who should be sorry. I also said some mean stuffs to you that I shouldn't have said. You deserve all A's you can get and you can get hot girls like Simone… who by the way just missed out on a great guy like you." He threw a dismissive hand, "Her loss."

Hunt blushed, "Aww, shucks…"

"I… kinda hate to admit it but… when the professor gave me that 90%, I was shocked, yes, but then I was thinking in the back of my head, '…This is it. I get to be smart like Hunt again. This time, like old times."

Hunt's smile widened, "Oh yeaah! Like old times! Were we unstoppable with our brain actions?"

"Yeah! Remember when we could exactly guess the exact day and time of specific historical events? Like Independence Day 1776? You'd guess the day, and I'd guess the time."

Hunt and Jace pondered briefly, eyes staring up in space. Hunt turned back to Jace. "Was that a Wednesday?"

Jace shrugged, "I don't remember. And I don't think it was at 5:30. That's like Happy Hour."

"Dude, we _can_ be unstoppable like old times again." He reassured, almost excitedly, "And we can start right now." Hunt handed his 90% exam to Jace with Jace's name on it. "Here, take it. Please. I need to do this to boost your spirit. And make myself feel better."

Jace smiled before taking the exam, "Thanks, Hunt. You're a true friend…err… brother."

The duo hugged.

"Awww…" The guys turned around, startled by Glyph's voice. "You guys are so cute together."

Her creepy smile then vanished, "…not in a creepy homo kind of way."

"GLYPH?!" they exclaimed.

"I thought we lost you." Hunt grumbled.

Jenn suddenly burst into the classroom. She appeared out of breath, "Guys!" she gasped. "Ahh… there you… are…!"

"Jenn! What's wrong?" Jace asked with concern.

Jenn tried to speak, but found it difficult to do so, "… wheeze… What's wrong…" she gasped, having difficulty breathing and speaking at the same time. "…is that I've been calling you!" she continued to pant, chest heaving up and down. "…you haven't heard the news?"

"What? What is it? You're scaring me." Hunt asked Jenn as Jace escorted her to a seat, so that she can catch her breath.

"It's all over national news." Glyph stepped in for her to speak, "The entire 5 th Avenue district has been shut down. You know that fire dragon Volvagia? He showed up this afternoon and ravaged all of Upper Manhattan. Link was there and he slayed it."

"Oh my god…" Hunt uttered.

"Volvagia? Are you _Shoujo_ for real?" Jace exclaimed. _Shoujo_ meant girls in Japanese.

"Dad called me, saying that Link has gone to the Empire State Building to confront Ganondorf and rescue Zelda, but he hasn't come back ever since!" Jenn said, "And with Volvagia showing up, the villain means business!"

"But it could've been worse." Hunt tried to reassure her, "Someone we know could've gone with Link. Someone who's not even a Nintendo character."

"You're wrong." Jenn said, "Pat and Maple. They are there with him!"

"What?" Jace and Hunt exclaimed. "Pat and Maple?" Hunt exclaimed.

"Why would they go there?" Jace asked.

**xxx**

Ganondorf's voice echoed in the painting room. Link still searched around for the riding phantom. He finally spotted it, shooting out from one of the paintings. Link raised his bow and arrow but never fired as the horse's hooves knocked the weapons from his hands and brought him to the ground. Link rolled to his stomach and watched the phantom vanished again into another painting, leaving behind a lightning bolt shooting out from the ceiling and coursed through Link from head to toe. Link cried out in pain before crumbling to his knees again.

"LIIIIINK!" Zelda's voice echoed in the chamber, along with Pat and Maple's frantic voices. Phantom Ganon laughed aloud again.

"Must... save... the girls... must... save... everyone..."

Link's body couldn't take any more blows. He was just about to hit the floor when Jace came from out of nowhere and let him fall to his arms. Mario, DK, Kirby and Pit were with him also.

"Whoa, dude. You're okay?" Jace asked Link who groggily muttered. Zelda, Pat and Maple cries still rang across the room.

"He needs a Drink of the Gods." Pit magically pulled out a potion filled with red wine-like substance.

Muah! HA! HA! HA! Phantom Ganon's laughter echoed from across the paintings. DK tapped on Jace's shoulder and grunted as if speaking. Jace turned back to Phantom Ganon before turning to Pit, "Actually," he grinned, "DK has a better idea." he turned to the large monkey, "Do your thing, monkey!"

Phantom Ganon was slowly closing in, emerging out from one of the paintings.

DK grabbed Link from the head, then stuffed him under his armpit. "WHOOo!" Link's eyes widened and his feet shot up from the ground.

Phantom Ganon came out of the painting. A red-faced Link was about to swing a fist at DK for stuffing his face under his armpit, but Mario jumped in and flipped him with a Mario Cape attack. Link's arm struck Phantom Ganon instead and everything turned black.

The gang beheld the golden Triforce of Courage locking Phantom Ganon in their two large forms.

"Finaaaal SMAAAAASH!"

Link dashed at the phantom and unleashed a barrage of sword slashes, so brutal, the noises of the sword felt like slicing live flesh.

The gang cheered just as Link landed the finishing blow, sending Phantom Ganon flying into a painting, but instead of going through it, it ripped the painting through. Phantom Ganon vanished, its death cry trailed behind. The entire room reverted back to the Empire State Galleria as everyone cheered victory.

Link swung his blade a couple of times before sheathing it back to its scabbard and posed.

"And that is-a what I call a sweet victory!" Mario cheered with a peace sign. Kirby squeaked in reply.

Link approached DK and pointed a finger at him, "Next time monkey, don't stuff my face to your BO pit again."

DK grinned widely in reply.

"Guys look!" Pit pointed and the heroes watched three paintings floating before them. One with Zelda, and the two others with Pat and Maple.

"Kirby. Would you do the honor?" Jace asked the pink puffball. Kirby's feet wheeled in place before he opened his mouth and inhaled the three paintings. He then spat them out as stars to a wall. The stars shattered to reveal the girls land on the ground, free from their prison.

"Zelda!" Link ran toward the princess. Zelda turned to Link and hugged him back just as he hugged her, "Oh, Link... you're here." she fought back the tears, "I knew you'd come for me."

"Jace! You're here!" Maple ran toward Jace and tackled him to the ground in a bear hug. Jace grunted in pain. Maple rubbed her head on his chest, "I knew you'd come for me."

Jace laughed nervously, "Am I now?"

Hunt, Jenn, Glyph, and Dr. Dimentio all came into the Galleria, along with the police and firefighters.

"Thank goodness you guys are all safe." Dr. Dimentio let out a heavy sigh.

"HUNT!" Pat ran toward Hunt, arms wide open for a hug, "You came for me! I knew you'd-!"

"Don't even think about it!" Hunt rose a hand, stopping her advance, "I bruise easily."

"Can I at least kiss you?"

Hunt blushed, "Okay." he grinned and puckered up. But Pat leapt over him and tackled him to the ground in a bear hug also. Hunt yelped.

"HEY!" Glyph yelled at the sight of Maple on top of Jace. "What the hell is this? Who the hell are you?"

Jace, Maple, Pat and Hunt came back to their feet.

"All right kids," one of the police officers began, escorting the heroes outside, "you need to discuss your little victory flings away from here. We still have to investigate all your little incidents."

"Little?" one of the officers turned to his colleague with a frowning look in his face, "They almost destroyed New York."

"You know Link is a hero, right?" Jenn said to the police officer, "And so is my cousin and everyone else?"

"Yeah, please include everyone else as heroes," Dr. Dimentio said, "because we did not summon that Volvo snake at will and tried to destroy New York City."

"Err... It's Volvagia, Ojisan." Jace corrected his uncle.

"I don't care what it's called, Jace. You're in big trouble now." Dimentio argued.

"Oh, for what exactly? For helping Link save Zelda when the entire time I was with Hunt at school?"

Dr. Dimentio paused, "Sorry. I was trying to find someone to blame."

Jace smirked, "That's all right, Ojisan."

The officers and everyone else were on their way out from the galleria as more investigators stepped in to do their jobs.

"Y'know, Hunt would've been easier, but he didn't do anything wrong so far." Dimentio said.

Jace and the other Smash Bros. chortled "Yeah, tell-a that to his Computer Sciences professor." Mario said.

"HEY!" Hunt exclaimed.

"What? That was-a funny!"

"Real funny." Jace added.

"Funny like the time Palutena sprayed monster pheromone on me." Pit said.

"What did you do?" Dr. Dimentio, Jenn, Link, Zelda, Maple and Pat asked simultaneously.

"NOTHING!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Mamamia. It-a all started-!"

"SHUT UP!"

The gang left the galleria with a trail of cheerful laughter behind.

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

Pat and Maple will help Link on his rescue mission for Zelda. New York will never be the same again. And Jace and Hunt change personalities?

There's gonna be a wedding between a mortal and a Nintendo princess. Peach is the maid of honor and she's also a bride! To Mario! Double wedding, maybe?

Thanksgiving comes early with Kirby! And Jace's mom is our special guest, and our hero has some explaining to do.

Warning! New Challenger Approaching! And she's quite eccentric.

Jace faces his worst nightmare!

November 18th episode will end in a cliffhanger. Who will survive?

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Wedding in 3D_


	8. Ep6:: Wedding in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Wedding in 3D_

* * *

The Plaza's Grand Ballroom was dotted in billions of lights. Chandeliers gracefully hung the wide ceiling. Candle lights perfectly lined up inches from each other. A huge crowd filled the ballroom, all sitting and waiting in classy formals. At the farthest corner of the room was the podium with a white tent gleaming gloriously, being the centerpiece of this occasion.

Jace looked ravishing in his groom's suit: a festive evening suit of a double-row jacket with a satin lapel, a beige vest, a clean white tie, and a white rose boutonniere, its shade matching the vest. He even had his hair trimmed to a crew cut rather than keeping his usual Mohawk. He looked nervous… tapping his polished Ralph Lauren loafers and glancing back and forth at the grand audience. Great focus was at the exit door of the ballroom.

He shook his head and leaned to Mario who was next to him sporting an onyx tuxedo with a gleaming red vest underneath.

"Can we ever gonna get this over with?" Jace grumbled under his breath, "I'm chafing in places I'm not supposed to be chafing."

Mario turned to Jace, squinting in disgust, "Ew… TMI."

He shook his head in dismissal. "…whatever, _mio fratello_ . There is-a nothing to worry about. It's-a gonna be over in a second."

"Oh yeah, sure." Jace sarcastically laughed, "in a second, I'm about to be Mister—!"

A symphonic orchestral version of '_Here Comes the Bride_ ' suddenly filled the ballroom and the congregation knew what they were doing. They stood up, and they turned to face the door swinging open, allowing the bride to walk down the aisle. Jace and Mario were silent at the sight of the bride. She wasn't even close to being Jace's type. Heck she wasn't even Jace's type!

She was Princess Daisy!

The 3D Animated Nintendo Princess from Sarasa Land stood at the end of the aisle in her ravishing light-mint wedding dress. Next to her was Luigi, playing the role of the man giving away the bride to the groom. He sported the same tux as Mario, only his vest was a shimmering green. Daisy broadly smiled at Jace. Jace smirked, chuckling nervously before returning the hello wave Daisy sent his way.

"Just-a be cool." Mario whispered, "It's-a only a wedding."

"Uh-huuh…" Jace squeaked.

"_Your_ wedding."

Jace nodded, swallowing hard, "Uh-huuh…"

Daisy slowly walked down the aisle. Luigi escorted her. They were greeted by the many smiles and greets from the guests. But then after a while the guests stopped smiling and suddenly got on edge, gasping as if they saw something bigger than the bride herself. Jace and Mario looked on edge also, their attention no longer on Daisy but on something _behind_ her.

Luigi and Daisy turned around and watched Maple Reid, also on her wedding dress, fast-walking toward Daisy. Daggers glittered in her eyes.

"What the—?" Daisy startled.

Maple's parents stood from their seat at the sight of their daughter, "MAPLE?" Maple's dad gasped.

"I'm about to whack that bobble off your head you little—!" she threw a fist across Daisy's jaws, finishing her vulgar insult on cue.

Luigi jumped out of the way as Daisy fell back. Half of the guests rose from their seats. Maple threw a bodyslam at Daisy and wrapped her fingers around the princess's neck. The girls wringed and tossed. Claws tore through white fabrics. Shoes flew across the aisle. Daisy soon got the upper-hand and wrapped her fingers around Maple's face, twirled her, and pinned her to the ground. The catfight got the crowd aroused.

Phones and tablets flew off pockets and lit up the room like the candles; constantly flashing from the cam lens. No one paid attention to another wedding bride and her bridesmaid breaking through the door as well and froze to watch the brawl: the two princesses Peach and Zelda. Their jaws hit the floor at the sight of Daisy and Maple turning their delicate makeup faces into beat-up visages.

"_Aye mamia_ , should-a we stop this?!" Mario exclaimed, "This was SO not-a part of the PLAN!"

"I got it!" Luigi ran to the two girls. Jace buried his face on his palm, mortifyingly watching through his fingers Luigi losing his attempt to pull the girls away for he too got sucked into the wedding catfight.

"Oh god, this would've never happened if I didn't end up in Sarasa Land in the first place…" Jace muttered to himself, "I got brides fighting over me. And they're not even HOT."

**xXx**

**Six months earlier…**

"SUDDEN DEATH…GO!"

The crowd cheered once again as all watched Jace climbing up the staircase of a really long twisted tower. Jace could hear the echoing cries of Daisy shouting out his name.

"Jace! Jace, are you there?! Help me!"

"Daisy, stay put! I'm coming to your rescue!" Jace shouted, furiously climbing up the stairs, chest heaved up and breath turned shallow by the effort.

"I'M TELLING YOU, FOLKS! THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST DRAMATIC 3D BRAWL YET!" Shouted one of the Mii announcers Tre, "TATANGA'S TEAM OF ROBS VERSUS PRINCESS DAISY AND OUR VERY OWN WHITE KNIGHT, JACEN RIDERS; BATTLING OUT IN A SUDDEN DEATH EVENT INSIDE DAISY'S TWISTED TOWER OF COMMITMENT IN SARASA LAND!"

"NOW WHY WOULD THEY CALL THIS PLACE THE TWISTED TOWER OF COMMITMENT?" Deen the second announcer asked.

"WHO CARES? THIS MATCH RIGHT NOW IS BETTER THAN MY FAVORITE SOAP OPERA!"

Jace stopped and turned to the crowd, eyebrow raised at Tre. The crowd also turned to Tre. Tre and Deen, the announcers of every Smash Bros. matches were none other than two goofy-looking Miis.

"YEA, THAT'S RIGHT, I WATCH SOAPS!" Tre complained, "GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!"

Jace shook his head in dismissal, "When are you two goofy hosts gonna start to realize that this isn't a Brawl, this is serious business? Daisy has been kidnapped and locked in this tower!"

Before he could even get an answer, two ROBs crashed before him on the ground and towered over him. Jace almost tripped.

"WHOA! AND LOCKED AWAY SHE GOT HERSELF BY THOSE TWO ROBS, WHO ARE NOW OUT FOR JACE'S BLOOD!" Deen joked, "…OR IN ROBOTS' TERM, JACE'S CIRCUIT!"

"IS THERE EVEN A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CIRCUIT AND BLOOD?" Tre aked.

"CRUSH HIM YOU FOOLS!" Tatanga was heard from outside the tower, floating onboard his spaceship, "CRUSH HIM LIKE FINE POWDER! All you gotta do is CRUSH him!"

And right on cue, one of the ROBs threw its arm across Jace. Jace's body repeatedly slammed the tower walls as he went sprawling back down the stairs like a ragged doll.

He slowly lifted his back off the ground, the pain assaulted his spine. He glanced to his right and there was a golden CD. The CD flickered, ready to vanish.

BEEEEEEP!

Jace looked up. One of the ROBs flew headlong at him with a bodyslam. Jace quickly scooped the CD to his hand and rolled out of the way. The robot slammed to the ground. He turned its head toward him. Jace stepped back, fists clenched in a fighting pose.

A ray gun appeared before him. He quickly grabbed it and pointed at the ROB. "Don't move!" He threatened.

Suddenly two metal coils wrapped around his neck from behind, catching him off guard. The second ROB had him. The gun dropped from his hands and he tried to struggle but the robot proved too strong for him.

"That's it! Choke him! Choke him good!" Tatanga relished.

Jace floundered in desperation. His throat was closing and he sharply gasped for air.

"UHOH! JACE IS IN TROUBLE!" shouted Deen.

The other ROB recovered and towered before him. Its eyes shimmered, charging a Smash attack for the finish. Jace's visions blurred as he was losing consciousness. "COULD THIS BE THE END OF HIM IN THIS BRAWL?!" Tre exclaimed.

"Yes! Yes! YEEEAAAAH!" Tatanga hooted.

"Oh no you don't!" Daisy shouted.

Tatanga turned around and felt Daisy's heel jabbed his face. Tatanga flew off the screen. His distraught scream echoed in sync to the crowd's excitement.

[TATANGA DEFEATED!]

Daisy landed before the second ROB who was ready to finish Jace with its Smash attack. She pulled out a Golf club and swung across its face.

The crowd gasped as the robot flew off the screen. The other ROB startled in disbelief of his defeated comrade, no longer in the arena.

[ROB DEFEATED!]

Jace could feel ROB's hold on him slipping. Now was his chance. He threw an elbow jab, striking his enemy to its silicon chest. The robot dropped his coil arms down and hunched forward, beeping as if damaged.

Jace turned around and Daisy joined beside him.

"Run!" he said to the princess.

"Uh-huh." Daisy shook her head, "I don't think so! "AAAYYY—!" She threw her shoulder back; her clenched fingers reached behind the back of her head, and took a step forward.

"—YAAAA!" her fist shot out, connecting hard on ROB's chest.

ROB didn't budge. But Daisy's fist swelled up and took a ripe red hue.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" she bawled, gripping her throbbing hand. Tears streaked down her cartoonish baby face.

"Beep-beep!" ROB rose up one arm and descended it at Daisy.

"Get outta here!" Jace pushed Daisy out of the way, only to receive ROB's blow.

"JACE!" Daisy screamed and the crowd got on their feet, as all watched the teen sprawl down the well and out in the open field. The crowd was aroused.

ROB jumped before Jace, its shadow towered over him. Jace quickly shot up to his feet, and launched another palm thrust—to no one! ROB was gone.

Daisy and the crowd gasped, "WATCH OUT!"

Jace watched the robot arm swing at him from behind. "WHOA!" He rolled back. ROB's arm slammed hard on the water puddle, a huge splash slapped the robot's face and rapidly trembled, losing circuit.

Jace was now behind him. A baseball bat materialized before him. He quickly grabbed it before ROB turned back to him.

"Heeey, batter-batter-batter."

ROB turned around and shreeched as if gasping at the sight of the bat.

Jace smirked, "Swing." and then he swung the bat, connecting the robot's face with a loud KEEEN!

The robot flew off the scene.

"GAAME!"

The crowd cheered louder than ever before.

**xXx**

Jace and Daisy returned to the MiiVerse, greeted by the applause of a large Nintendo characters crowd. The place immediately felt like a party the moment they got back. People were all over the duo. Even Daisy's own people, the Sarasans, were there. The Sarasans were tiny people the size of Toads, but their heads were a combination of flower petals and turban draping down to their low back.

"Mamamia, Jace! You were amazing!" Mario praised, "So amazing in fact, that the whole MiiVerse is-a still buzzing about your match against Tatanga to save Daisy at the Twisted Tower of Commitment! Look!"

The gang watched tiny screens floating around the MiiVerse displaying pictures of Jace and Daisy's actual Brawl moments picture against Tatanga's ROB robots.

"Yeah…" a brooding Luigi stepped in, "Your match. Hear-a that Mario? _His_ match."

"I'm just glad this is over." Jace said with a heavy sigh of relief, "Another princess rescued from Nintendo villains at the Nintendo world. AAAND—!"

He pulled out the shiny CD he found earlier, "Got me a shiny hidden CD!" he grinned. The entire Nintendo world cooed.

"I wonder what song this is?" he approached one of the floating screens and pushed the CD into the screen. The screen swallowed the CD, its face rippling like water on contact. Then the screen displayed the Play button. Jace pushed it. The screen rippled again by his touch.

_Here comes the Bride_ Bridal Chorus from _Wii Music_ filled the MiiVerse. Daisy blushed. Jace looked around, noticing all eyes on him. He grinned nervously and pressed the Pause button. The music vanished.

"Aww…" Luigi cooed. "I can already picture the doves."

"Jacen. My White Knight in shining armor." Daisy took Jace's hands and squeezed them lovingly, "I can't thank you enough for what you have done for me back at Sarasa Land."

"Your bravery and your love for me has sparkled my eyes as the princess of this kingdom. And because you've shown me all at the Twisted Tower of Commitment, I cannot wait for you and me to seal that bond we have with each other forevermore."

Peach was watching, smiling from one corner. But then an uneasy feeling crept up to her spine when she heard her sister spoke of the tower. Her smile turned faint.

"I… can't wait too." Jace blushed.

Daisy squealed with joy and clapped her hands. "Yeaaahh! Okay… so it's decided! Tomorrow at three, the entire Sarasan Kingdom will be hosting a Royal banquet tomorrow and I want your friends to be witnesses."

"Awesome! A real-life Nintendo bash!" Jace said excitedly and so did all the Nintendo characters in the MiiVerse. Peach was now frowning. She scratched her head ponderously.

"This is exciting!" Jace turned back to Daisy, "But can we do it all at the Plaza? I want the press to be in on this."

"Ohhh, yeah!" Daisy squealed, "Consider it done! The banquet! The bash! Everything! I want this to be perfect and of a four-star quality."

Peach looked back at Toadsworth. Toadsworth was smiling. He didn't even realize something was troubling his princess.

Daisy turned to a Sarasan, who looked pretty much like Toadsworth, except his flower petals were of white rose and he had a large beard, "Oh Bertram, dear. Can you please make sure that all of the preps are _totes_ up in order?"

Bertram bowed before the princess, "Consider it done, Princess Daisy!" he said before scurrying out of there.

"Wow!" Toadsworth said, "I know that steward of hers is like my clone, but I'm liking the commitment in organizing a major Nintendo party at the Plaza! I feel inspired."

Peach didn't reply. She approached her sister, "Umm… Daisy? I gotta ask."

"Hmm?" Daisy turned to Peach. Peach hesitated, "…and I'm pretty sure a lot of people want to know too. But… the Twisted Tower of Commitment? Sarasan legends have it that it holds a secret right? Do you know what it is?"

"Oh, Peach." Daisy rubbed her sister's cheek with affection, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret now wouldn't it?"

Just when no one was looking, Daisy leaned over to Peach's ears and quickly whispered, "Meet me at the tower and I'll give you all the deets!" her voice could barely contain the excitement.

"Okay!" she replied gleefully, suddenly infected by her princess sister's cheery nature. "YEAAAH!" Daisy clapped her hands excitedly again before turning to Jace, "…and you Jace. Since you're the guest of honor, don't forget to pick out the best cutest outfit. Most preferably, a tux." She struck a cute wink at him.

"Oh, believe me, princess. I'm all ready to…!"

**xxx**

_"Part-taaaay_!"

Hunt, Jace, Pat and Maple shouted out loud. Hans and Jenn reluctantly joined in the shout. They were inside a clothing store at the Manhattan Shopping Mall.

"I can't believe that we're actually going to a real-life Nintendo party, hosted by Nintendo characters!" Hunt exclaimed, his voice reaching hysteria. "This is so cool!"

All heads turned to the ecstatic geek. The gang shushed him.

"Dude." Jace said, "Any louder and the whole world might hear you."

"Isn't it too late for the whole world to already know of these Nintendo toons' presences?" Hans remarked. Jenn nodded in agreement.

Jace scowled. "Okay, fine. I admit it was my fault for bringing the entire Nintendo world into one city, but don't rub it to my face."

"Yeah! Don't!" Maple wrapped her arms around Jace's face like an egg, squeezing his cheeks. She glared back at the gang, "His face is like a smooth egg that needs some tender loving care. So don't mess with it." She puckered toward Jace, "Isn't that right Jakey?"

"Too much love." Jace mumbled. Maple let go off him, "Sorry."

"So let me get this straight." Pat began, "You saved the princess. And she rewards you with a massive gala event that's gonna be at the Plaza on national TV?"

"And I get to invite all of my best buds." Jace added.

"On National TV?" Jenn sounded nervous all of the sudden, "What if we end up…" she cringed, "…naked?"

"There will not be any tabloids." Jace reassured, "If that's what you're implying. Don't worry about it."

Massive feet resounded with every step. Someone approached Jace from behind and threw a huge shadow over the gang. All eyes stared at the ominous figure behind Jace. Jace didn't realized what was going on until he heard the shadow's booming voice.

"And how are you so sure about that?" the voice intently questioned. Jace turned around. Bowser was clad in a huge brown detective trenchcoat. His top hat hid the horns and his fiery red hair, and a bandana was tied over his muzzle.

"What the hell?" Jace jumped back.

"Look," Hans said to Bowser, "If you're looking for a Triple-Extra-Large store, the closest one is in Mars."

"Oh, I've been in Mars, buddy." Bowser countered, "Had a visit with your cousin. Says he wants his face back."

Hans took one threatening step, but Maple blocked his path, "Hans, stop!" she said, "He's not worth it."

"What is it you want, Bowser?" Jace asked him, "An invite? Because last time I checked, princesses don't invite big bad monsters to their parties."

"I know." Bowser replied, "That's why I crash them. Anyway, just here to give you a word of advice. Any party that involves Daisy in it, don't go to them. Unless you want to get…"

His eyes narrowed, "…committed." He relaxed them again, "…but then again, I don't know why I'm wasting my breath warning you about commitment. See, I am a king, and I want to be independent. I don't settle for commitment."

"Oh?" Jace grinned, "Really?" he turned to Hunt, Jenn, Pat, Maple, and Hans. All looked knowingly at each other before turning back to Bowser with laser-eye gaze and arms crossed over their chests. Bowser felt a sweat on his forehead, "What?"

"If you're so afraid of commitment, then how come you have seven kids?" Jace questioned.

"And Bowser Jr.?" Jenn replied.

"That's eight counting." Hunt said.

"Your wife left you?" Pat asked.

"Because you weren't so committed enough to your duties?" Maple asked.

"Or is it because you're just a jackass?" Hans insulted.

Silence. Bowser gazed back at the teens. The teens were still.

"Ugh… go back to your rotten routines." He huffed and left, his massive feet resounded with every step. The gang laughed, returning to their shopping.

"Wait a minute." said Hunt with a sudden realization, "The Koopalings aren't Bowser's children. They're only his minions. Remember it was revealed online not long ago?"

The gang paused with realization also, "Oh yeah, Bowser really doesn't have eight kids." Jace said.

"Who do you think the mother is?" asked Pat and the gang paused in ponder. Hans shook his head, "yeah, I don't wanna know." the gang frowned and murmured in agreement.

So the gang continued on with their shopping. Then after the shopping spree they went for a quick bite to eat and discussed the party further. Then two hours passed and they headed out of the mall. Jenn stayed behind, claiming to have left her wallet and needed to head back out the food court.

Instead she went to the clothing store where the friends had their encounter with Bowser. And Jenn was looking for him.

"Where the hell are you, you big massive Koopa?" she muttered, looking around. Only regular customers and salespeople. No Koopas. She sighed, turned back and there was Bowser right before her.

"You called?" he grinned. Jenn jumped back.

Hunt entered the store right on cue, "Hey, Jenn! Were you able to find—!" he stared at the King of Koopas, "…you!" he approached menacingly.

Bowser cast a cold scowl. Hunt stepped back.

"Hunt. It's okay. He's not gonna hurt me." Jenn said before facing the King, "Because one, we're in public. And two, I want to know what you meant by staying away from anything Daisy-related parties."

"Ahh, so the connoisseur wanna be the connoisee huh?" Bowser grinned.

Jenn and Hunt cocked their heads on one side, frowning.

"That ain't even a word." Hunt corrected.

"So what? You're not the boss of me!" Bowser snapped.

"Bowser…" Jenn grimaced. "Out with it."

"Ever heard of the Twisted Tower of Commitment?"

"That's where Jace battled Tatanga and the ROBs to save Daisy, right?"

"And a twisted way to get engaged."

There was a pause. "I'm sorry, what?"

"The White Knight is setting himself up to become the royal family man." Bowser's grin grew widely, "Because by the next approximate 23 hours, Jacen Riders is gonna be Mister Daisy Deijī-hime, the fairest of all!"

Jenn and Hunt's eyes were the size of golf balls.

"You're lying!" Hunt barked.

"Am I?" Bowser countered, "Just ask Daisy the next time you see her. Ask her who the party is dedicated to and what is the big occasion that follows right after the Royal Banquet? Oh! And be on the lookout for the White Yoshi. He's the Ringbearer. That's why _I_ never kidnap her."

Jenn and Hunt shared terrified looks.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

**xXx**

Nintendo characters from all over filled the Plaza ballroom that day. Their jovial chatters covered every gold-and-marble corner. The lights on the chandeliers painted the atmosphere with a sharp citrus contrast. The immense table stretched out both sides, inviting tempted guests to flower cookies and star-shaped bonbons on silver platters. A spongy creamy cake shaped like a castle proudly posed right in the middle of the sugary and buttery centerpieces.

There was also a marble fountain of Daisy and Jace together with one arm around each other and another arm raised over their heads with entertained confidence. A stream of KeroKeroCola dripped from the holes of a satin rock where the two statuettes stood. The colorful duo greeted any guest with carved stony smiles on their faces every time they came for a Kero drink.

Old Tom Nook came for a drink when he stopped before the Jace statuette of the fountain. His droopy eyes narrowed, curiously auditing the marble form of the energetic Italian/Japanese-American.

"…odd. Why does this fella look different from all of us?" he whispered, obviously pointing out the character was not animated like he was.

"Because we're practically different!"

"KYAA!" A startled scream left Tom's muzzle unexpectedly. He flipped around and his shaking pupils gazed straight at the real deal towering before him in a brilliant pearly Roar Salute Vest layered with a coral Henley and bold blue jeans. Jace's smile eerily matched the one from the statuette.

"You?" Tom's voice came out a wheeze due to his beating heart.

"Jacen Riders." he stretched out one hand to Tom, a KeroKeroCola glass held by the other. "But you can call me Jace. Nice to meet you."

Tom glared back at the hand, then at Jace. Jace lowered his hand, "guess you're not that friendly compared to the game."

"You're the guest of honor?" Tom asked with a tone of surprise.

Jace took another look at his statuette on the fountain, "I guess I am." he chuckled.

"Guess the princess has…" he scanned Jace's appearance once more, "…exquisite taste." he said with a hint of distaste.

Jace watched Tom scurry off. His friendly smile left him with only a pucker. "Guess you really are unfriendly outside the game." he muttered and walked the other direction.

Jenn and Hunt's heads crept out of hiding from a distant corner. The duo locked their attention on Daisy. Her steward Bertram approached her from nearby.

"Oh Princess Daaaisy~!"

Daisy diverted her attention from finding Jace in the crowd to Bertram. A glorious smile greeted her singing steward.

Bertram took her by the hands, "Words cannot express how proud I am of you that you finally found a suitor!" he said, almost chocking with gloat and pride, "Now we're one step ahead of a wedding and your sister Princess Peach will only be a maid of honor and nothing more!"

Daisy laughed in reply, "Aw, thank you Bertram."

Bertram looked around, "Say… where _is_ the Mushroom damsel anyway?"

"In distress." Daisy chuckled, quickly dismissing her answer as Bertram gazed back with a raised eyebrow, "I'm just joking. I took her to the Twisted Tower of Commitment. She wanted to admire its glorious foundation."

**_~Flashback~_**

Peach felt a hand shoved her back. She stumbled into a well-furnished guest room with a large window staring out to the high skies. She shuffled back from the ground and wheeled around. Daisy was right behind the guest room's door, her gloved hand firm on its knob.

"I'm getting married to Jace Riders! And no one will STOP me!" she screamed and with a swing of her arm, slammed the door in front of Peach.

"Heyy!" Peach cried out from inside. Daisy reclined beside the door, ignorantly checking her nails. Princess Peach pounded her fists on the door, screaming and pleading Daisy to let her go.

**_~End Flashback~_**

Daisy shoved the flashback asides. "You know," she said to Bertram, "I wasn't expecting a young man from this world to be my suitor but…"

She glanced toward the two empty thrones to the far left of the room, overlooking the many tables and the guest-filled room. She finally saw Jace speaking to a group of Cappies from Dreamland and colorful sea creatures near the thrones.

"If it's the White Knight in person, that is my White Knight in shining armor, I would be twice as happy." She let out a happy squeal and so did Bertram.

Both were unaware that Jenn and Hunt heard them. Their jaws dropped.

"So is it true?" Hunt asked. "They're getting married?"

Daisy looked around, "Now _where_ is the White Yoshi? He's supposed to be here with the Rings of Matrimony."

"They ARE getting married!" Hunt hissed while Jenn was rooted to the spot, gaped.

"I don't believe this."

"I know! The jerk of that Jace! It's his wedding and he didn't even bother to make me his best man?! The nerve! The GALL! The—!"

Jenn struck Hunt hard on the head. "FOCUS!" she hissed.

"ow…"

"Of all the lies he has committed, Bowser actually spoke the truth!" Jenn exclaimed, "Jace, saving Daisy from that Twisted Tower of Commitment, made himself engaged to her for 24 HOURS! After that he gets taken! WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE!"

Jenn's heart raced and her palms turned damped. The idea of her cousin marrying a Nintendo character was like either a dream come true or a nightmare happening before her. It was hard to process. She swiftly stepped out of hiding and so did Hunt. "We've gotta stop this wedding before it actually happens."

"Actually," Hunt said calmly, masking his beating heart, "It didn't happen yet. The actual wedding is tomorrow."

Jenn swung another hard knuckle across his head. "OW!" Hunt winced, "Stop it!" he held on his throbbing skull.

"I will if you stop sounding stupid!" She barked. She looked around the ballroom again and finally saw Jace, speaking to the Royal family of Pufftop. "There he is. Let's go."

The duo left their hiding spots and quickly crossed through the crowd, making the best effort to avoid eye contact with those Nintendo characters who might caught their attention and ending up into long conversations. Exciting conversations, but very, very long. They reached for the table with the Kero Fountain.

Jace excused himself from his conversation with the Pufftop Royal family and went for the table to get another Kero Drink. Just as he stepped before the fountain, Jenn and Hunt emerged from out of a pack of werewolves guests.

"Hey guys!" Jace cheerfully greeted them, failing to notice they were out of breath, "You have GOT to try the KeroKeroCola." He moved his empty glass toward the flowing drink, "They're to get _drunk_ into! I just saw a Sarasan drink a full glass of it in one gulp."

He withdrew his full glass, "before I knew it he was like, singing like a Himalayan hybrid Swanna. Whoo! Lemme tell you, the secrets he revealed ain't pretty." He took a sip from his glass.

"Here's a secret for you that ain't pretty." Jenn was about to spill the beans but Hunt moved his arm over to her, stopping her, "Are you sure you're supposed to be drinking this?" he asked Jace.

Jenn pushed Hunt's arm out of the way, "Actually, he might need this one glass." She turned back to her cousin, "Or maybe two."

Jace gave Jenn a puzzled look, "What are you talking about?" he chuckled.

"You're about to make a commitment."

Jace snorted. "Whaaaat?"

"Dude, this isn't a Sarasa Party Banquet!" Hunt said with a warning whisper, "You just got yourself engaged to the princess! You're attending your _own_ wedding!"

Jace's eyebrows raised in shock. The smile no longer was on his face; "Wait…" he cocked his head on one side, "whose wedding?"

Jenn rolled her eyes, "Doofus, your _own_ wedding!"

"I was hoping you wouldn't say my _own_ wedding!" Jace hissed back. He looked back and forth to see if anyone was listening before leaning toward them, "I can't marry a princess!" he paused, "Though I wish I was a prince, but I'm still too young! I have a whole life ahead of me to look forward to, not looking forward to a life filled with disgusting babies and bloated guts!"

Hunt chuckled, shaking his head, "It's not that…"

Jace and Jenn stared back at Hunt.

"Okay… it's _half_ of that." Hunt corrected, "But the point is, she's a Nintendo character! Animated in 3D and you're… you!" he exclaimed, "You can't marry her or else you want…" he paused uncomfortably, "hybrid kids."

"Half-anime, half-real-life?" Jenn raised a questionable eyebrow, "Is that even possible?"

Hunt turned to Jenn, frowning, "You wanna find out?"

"NO!" Jace screamed and all heads turned to him. "Hell no! Guys, get me outta here! Get me outta my dreadful future!"

"Errr…" Jenn pointed over Jace's shoulder. Hunt's heart skipped a bit when he looked over Jace also. "I think the whole ballroom may have heard you."

Jace wheeled around. Almost the entire ballroom had their attention on the trio.

"…uh-oh." Hunt chocked.

Daisy approached Jace with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, h-hi princess!" Jace nervously greeted her, stuttering, "…I… the stuffs I said…really… I didn't mean it."

She cocked her head on one side. He went on, "Y-you know, me, saying dreadful future and all…"

He bumped onto the table as he was reclining, hand dipped on the Kero fountain pool; but his gaze stayed on Daisy. Daisy's narrowed eyes deepened.

"Okay, before you hit me with a frying pan or something, let me explain. See there's an emergency at home and—!"

"Dreadful future?" Daisy cocked her head on one side, "What are you talking about?"

She licked her thumb and reached the damp finger toward Jace's lips, "…I just came here to fix you up. You had a ranch stain at the corner of your lip from that three-course Sarasan Salad earlier."

"Oh…uhh…" Jace grabbed a napkin and cleaned up his lips then his Kero-drenched hand, "…s-sorry."

"Honey, if you don't present yourself well before tomorrow night, you're gonna make me look bad." Daisy looked around, "And everyone else look bad too! Presentation in Sarasa is everything."

Everyone in the ballroom nodded in agreement before turning back to their diverse conversations.

"Riiight…" Jace grinned nervously.

"Now did you say something? About an emergency at home?" her eyes darkened, "Your dreadful future?"

"Yeah! Right…" Jace fibbled, "It's… my mom."

Daisy's face relaxed, "Oh?"

"Yeah! She's supposed to be at the airport now and I'm supposed to pick her up and if I don't…" he took a quick breath, "… get outta here, my future will be dreadful with her 'cause she's gonna throw me a hissy fit. Long story short, I invited her to our event of tomorrow night which…"

He looked back at Hunt and Jenn who grinned nervously at Daisy.

"… I'm still… confused about," he said nervously, turning back to Daisy, "…what's happening tomorrow night exactly?"

Daisy giggled, "Oh, silly!" She playfully punched his shoulder. Jace flinched, "Tomorrow night is our wedding!"

Jace was still as if a statue, his face as pale as ghost.

"In Sarasa, the princess and the prince must get married in only two days following the engagement rescue. On our first day, we have a Pre-Wedding Banquet. And finally on our second and final day we have our big day when we get to tie the knot followed by our Post-Wedding Reception!"

"Isn't that cool?!" She gushed, her eyes swept over her future groom and his guests.

"Uhh…" the gang uttered.

"Oh my gosh, we have GOT to send in invites. Like…now!" Daisy said, "This New York City place is a perfect venue to invite a whole crowd of people like three kingdoms at the same time."

She turned to walk away but then turned back, "Oh! And I almost forgot. Gotta contact the press too. Special request from you, y'know!"

Jace winked and pointed at her, clicking his tongue. Daisy turned to two Sarasans, "Shall we?" she snapped her fingers and departed. The two Sarasans followed.

Jace slowly turned to Hunt and Jenn, exchanging a frozen terrifying glance with them, "Please tell me that we're not actually going through with this?"

**xXx**

"They're gonna go through with this." Mario informed Peach. He was standing by the door of the chamber she was locked to inside the empty Twisted Tower of Commitment. Luigi, Toadsworth, and Link stood by beside him. Toadsworth was practically glued to the door.

"I can't believe that Gollum of a sister I have." Peach's upset cry filled the room. "She thinks I'm after Jace?"

Luigi sniggered, "…Gollum."

"He _is_ the White Knight after all." Mario pointed out. "And he _did_ rescue her from that-a Twisted Tower."

"I know the rules of the Twisted Tower!" Peach hissed. "whoever rescues the Princess from the Twisted Tower of Commitment is destined to marry her in two days!"

She went on after a half-second pause, "I just wanted to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life! Jace is not from our world y'know?"

"Yeah, but she thinks you're gonna ruin her wedding by getting married first. So…" Link shrugged.

"Ohhhh…" Toadsworth cried out in agony, his body slid on the locked door, "Oh, my dear princess Peach. If only you could just leave this tower…"

There was a brief silence, then Peach blurted out, "Wait a minute. That's it! Say that last part again?"

"Oh!" Toadsworth said, "You mean…" he cleared his throat and let out another agonizing cry, "Oh, my dear princess Peach. If only—!"

"Not you Toadsworth." Peach interrupted, "Link."

"Me?" Link pointed at himself, "Err…you mean the part about getting married first?"

"Yeah!" Peach exclaimed, "That's what we need to crash this wedding. With me getting MARRIED! Mario. Contact the Smash Bros. Committee."

Mario took off in a mad cartoonish dash.

"We have a match to broadcast." She said; a hint of craftiness in her voice, "Another princess is getting rescued from the Tower."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Luigi waved his arms in the air, "Can I be the one rescuing you this time?"

"NO!" Peach, Toadsworth, and Link all shouted loudly at him.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

News of Daisy and Jace's wedding quickly spread across Manhattan, both upper and lower. It even went far into Brooklyn and Chinatown. The Nintendo world got a taste of the invite as well. Gossip and speculations flooded the entire MiiVerse.

Family, friends, friends' families, even strangers went through great lengths to get the best outfit for the gala: from powder snow tuxedos to enchanting fuchsia evening gowns. Bracelets and necklaces from the latest Fashion guru were a must. The best shoes were on sale and out-of-order. Getting the last pair of these heels always caused fights among shoppers.

The press swarmed the plaza like bees to a honey comb. News crew, gossip columns, and paparazzi—which Bowser hired—were there to take every scandalous shot of the happy couple.

Back at the Nintendo World however, the Smash Committee once again organized a Smash battle: Mario vs. Tatanga. Objective: to defeat Tatanga and save Peach in the Twisted Tower of Commitment. Eventually, Tatanga lost the match and Peach and Mario immediately announced their victory and engagement.

Daisy heard the news and hired a private party planner for Peach and Mario, sabotaging their wedding plan and forcing them to push the date. Peach discovered Daisy's intention and sabotaged Daisy's wedding plan as well.

It went on for a week. Two weeks.

A month. Three months.

Finally after six months of sabotages and interruptions, both weddings got settled for one day. Thanks to the Plaza's manager, Mr. Belldam, who threatened the princesses with a police escort if they didn't stop this immaturity. Despite the interruptions, Jace still remained Daisy's fiancé.

**xxx**

Back in New York, the chilling temperature was returning. The leaves were losing both their color and their strength to remain on the trees. October was just around the corner, and the Royal Wedding of Sarasa and the Mushroom Kingdom was finally reaching deadline.

An elderly man in a business suit reached for the revolving door when it furiously spun around, almost chopping off his hand. He jumped back startled as he watched Maple and Pat shooting out the doors and into the lobby.

"I can't believe he's still marrying that slut!" Maple hissed.

"Damn girl!" Pat giggled, "That obsession you have of him is growing like the pimple on your chin."

Maple quickly clasped a hand over the small acne on her chin. Her cheeks flushed pink. "Look. I didn't have time to take care of my face, okay? And besides, I'm not obsessed! I'M IN LOVE!"

Pat rolled her eyes. Maple went on, "And I don't get him. He had all that time to break off the engagement, so why couldn't he?"

"Well…Jace is a good guy. And when the princesses were fighting over the wedding, he was trying to help them sett—!"

Flashes of cameras suddenly hurled at the two girls. Dozens of paparazzi and Lakitus with cameras on their fishing pole bait line hovered over the girls like moths to a flame. Bowser was approaching nearby. He sported a reporter hat and carried one camera on one hand and a news magazine on the other.

"Hey! What's the—!" Maple snatched a camera from a Lakitu's fishpole and chucked it right at the Lakitu, sending it flying across the lobby. The paparazzi froze. She then let out a bloodcurdling scream that had the Paparazzi flying out of her way with sheer panic.

Bowser laughed at that display of anger and approached the girls. Maple stepped before him, "Hey! What's the big idea, bighead?! Why are you sending in paparazzi to snap unwanted pictures of me and my friends?"

"Because the Wedding is tomorrow," the Koopa King replied, "and every tabloid needs a Diva to ruin it."

He pointed a claw finger at her, "And you're it!"

Maple cocked her head on one side, "What?"

Pat noticed the hat on Bowser's head, "You're a reporter?" she asked, flabbergasted, "For who?"

"_National Enquirer_ . Or as I'd like to call it:_ Bowser's Enquirer_ . Seriously, you can go really big here in this America without threatening someone. Have you seen the latest issue?" he pulled out the latest magazine, "BAM!"

The girls' jaws dropped at a picture of Mario in a Half-Link Half-Samus outfit, squishing a Goomba and posing with a wink.

"Mario's a Medieval Cyborg?! His secret identity exposed? Will Peach dump him before the big day?" Pat read.

"HEY!"

Bowser looked up. Mario, Link, and Kirby were approaching. Mario pointed at Bowser, "That's-a lie!"

More Lakitu Paparazzi circled around the trio and repeatedly snapped pictures of them. The trio shielded their eyes and threw their hands over them, complaining and trying to chase them away.

"Get every good shot of them, my sleazy babies!" Bowser's grin widened, "Every good shot!"

Kirby opened its mouth and a great twister took over the lobby. Everyone held on to their balance. All the cameras snapped from the paparazzi's hands. _Bowser's Enquirer_ magazine snapped from Bowser's claws, and all went straight into Kirby's orifice. Kirby swallowed them whole. A reporter hat formed above his head and a camera appeared to his grasp.

"Hiya!" Kirby let out a gleeful wail as he faced the stunned paparazzi with the camera.

"Uh-oh…" Pat said, "move over _New York Times_! 'cause Reporter Kirby is ready for his big-time scoop: Sleazy paparazzi caught on camera!"

Kirby clicked the button on his camera and a bright flash of light pierced the paparazzi's visions. The sleazy photographers wailed in pain and ran aimlessly across the lobby, completely blind. They dispersed like ants in frenzy until they were no longer in the lobby.

Kirby then faced Bowser with the camera. He was still smiling and cooing. "Waoh!"

Bowser formed a disgusted stare and rolled his eyes, "Ugh…whatever." He walked away.

"Kirby!" Maple approached Kirby and pulled him up into a hug, "Thank you so much for saving us!"

"Sorry you had to see that Mario." Pat said to the plumber apologetically, "But you see, tabloids are nothing but a bunch of lies, so you shouldn't worry about it."

"Too bad the only truth there is right now is the wedding." Link pointed out.

Maple let go off Kirby who hopped back down, "…yeah, how's Jace?" Maple asked with concern. "He's not too thrilled about it either."

"I don't know." Link said, "But Mario and Peach plan to ruin the wedding tomorrow."

"Can't you just wait until the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' part to do the interruption?" Pat proposed, "That's how many people here on Planet Earth break off weddings and they are very successful."

Mario glowered murderously at Pat, "We've-a spent months trying to break off their wedding, and it's now that you're-a tellin' us that?"

Pat stammered, "Well… I…I…w—I thought…"

Kirby rubbed on his tummy, groaning. It was aching and turning. His cheeks finally puffed up and he spat out _Bowser's Enquirer_. Maple frowned at the magazine in disgust.

"Ugh… the _National Enquirer_. Bowser's style." She muttered, "I hate that he had to pick me as the diva in this whole…"

She stopped short. Her eyes lit up with a sudden realization. "Wait a minute." She said, "That's it!"

She grabbed the damped newspaper. All eyes were on her, gazing questionably at her beaming smile. "That sleazy tabloid was right! I could be Jace's ticket out of this wedlock in no time!" her grin widened and turned malicious, "Guys. We're gonna have a wedding. And here comes the bride."

**xXx**

"Countdown to the most anticipating wedding of the year since William and Kate has now elapsed! Hi everybody, this is Deen from the Smash Bros. Games reporting live from right in front of the New York City Plaza Hotel, where the wedding everyone has been dying to attend is finally here."

"Hey this is Tre, the co-host. And this is where Princess Daisy of Sarasa Land and White Knight Jacen Riders of New York City, known for his criminal history and rebellious mind, will finally get to tie the knot after almost 9 months of engagement."

"But I don't think it will be over soon. For Princess Peach and Mario are still set on getting married this afternoon! We'll have our friend Willa Snorginton with coverage on the happy Nintendo couple later today."

"But the big question everyone is asking is: will there be a wedding?"

"And will our beloved princess finally be the one to tame the bad boy of Manhattan?"

Bowser shoved the two Miis out of the way and hoarded the camera. "Plus, 45 fun facts about the wedding of the decade!" he said, "From the perfect dress to the perfect cake."

A grin then passed over his lips. "And stay tuned for _Bowser's Enquirer TV_. Mario's secret identity… exposed? We'll have more deets for you during the wedding live coverage."

**xXx**

Jace looked out the window to a huge crowd of fancy suits, elegant dresses, and shiny large cars parked from the entrance of the Plaza and across the street to Central Park. The crowd was getting bigger by the minute. There were even a few—homeless and bums—who were not so elegant, wanting to be part of the action or taking that opportunity to beg for money and foods.

But all of that didn't concern Jace. What concerned him was all these people were here for one reason: his wedding with a Nintendo character. It felt wrong, but somehow he was stuck with it.

"Dude, by the time tomorrow comes, it'll all be forgotten." Hans said to him. Hunt and Jenn who were with him glared at him.

"It'll all be forgotten?" Jenn whispered, "Hans! This is the biggest wedding since the Royal Wedding and Brangelina! It'll not ALL be forgotten!"

"Mario and Peach's wedding will though." Hunt remarked, "Hey, have you seen the IGN people downstairs? They were there too!" a huge smile came up to his face, "Can you believe this? IGN! Hey, do you think that _GameSpot_ will be there too? Or—!"

Hunt's sentence quickly died away in his throat once he noticed Jenn's cold glare at him. He gulped, "I'm gonna shut up now."

Jace turned his attention away from the window. His shoulders drooped. "Guys, I can't believe I'm getting married today." He shook his head, "This is hopeless."

He dropped to the side of his bed with a defeated sigh. Hunt and Jenn sat beside him. Jenn caressed his back, "Hey don't feel bad, 'cuz." She said, "Pretty soon we'll laugh at this."

Jace looked back at his cousin.

"Maybe not _too_ soon." She said, her tone of voice high of nervousness, "but let's look at what's most important here. I'm the bridesmaid!"

Her face suddenly darkened, "I _am_ the bridesmaid, right?" she said with a warning tone.

Hunt and Hans looked back at each other, unsure of what to say. Jace sat straight and smiled and nodded at Jenn. "Yeah! You sure are the bridesmaid. I've told Daisy all about it!"

Jenn smiled broadly, "Good!"

The friends all laughed. Jenn stood up and went to look out the window. Jace leaned to Hunt, "Make sure Daisy knows all about it."

"Got it." Hunt said with a thumbs-up and hurried out the door.

Hans approached Jace. "Good thing you have best men by your sides." He said.

Jace's head dropped before he let out a defeated groan, "Aw man." He harshly whispered, "I forgot my best men too?" he smiled weakly, "Hey man, thanks for volunteering. I appreciate it."

"Oh no, not me!" Hans laughed, "I'm only here for the boozes." He went for the door and opened it. "_These_ are your best men."

Mario, Luigi and Link came into the room, all wearing tuxes. Mario and Luigi were in onyx tuxes, but their vests were of their favorite colors: red and green. Link's tux was similar but his vest was shining silver. He still had his green hat.

"Oh my gosh!" Jenn noticed the outfits on the characters, "You guys look so spiffy looking!"

"We're ridiculous." Luigi cried out with an irritated tone.

"I agree with Luigi on that one." Mario said.

"Come on guys! You're all really cute in these tuxes!" Jenn disagreed. She then turned to Link, "And Link? No green hat at a wedding!" she snatched the hat off his head.

"Hey come on!" Link complained, "It's the only thing that actually makes me look like myself. Not a business shrub."

The door opened and Hunt came back to the room. "Okay." He closed the door behind him, "The lovely brides are in the hallway, talking. _Actually_ talking. Not _fighting_."

"But isn't there a double wedding?" Jenn asked before all turned to Mario. "Mario, I thought you were getting married."

"I am." Mario replied, "I'm-a also Jace's best men!" He then turned to Jace, "And don't-a worry about starting a family. In the Nintendo World, you can-a use Nintendo Magic to have a baby child."

Jace looked frozen.

Luigi nodded. "It is-a true."

"Very true." Link agreed.

After a short silence…"Nintendo Magic?" Jace muttered, "Well, that doesn't make me feel any better."

**xXx**

Peach and Daisy were in the hallway, both on their wedding gowns. Peach's wedding gown looked just like her princess gown only it had the traditional wedding white color. Daisy was however in a light-mint gown.

"I'm sorry I locked you up in the Twisted Tower of Commitment." Daisy said to Peach in the hallway, "But you're engaged to Mario! So that's a good thing!"

"Yeah. At least I am." Peach replied with her usual sweet calm voice. "And at least we have each other."

The two princesses laughed along. "So what do you say? Forgive, forget and enjoy this wedding?" Peach asked.

"You know it girl!" Daisy replied with her usual perky tone, "You and Mario! Me and Jakey! Oooh! We're gonna have the best weddings EVER!"

Both girls held hands and squealed, jumping up and down. Zelda approached the two girls from one corner and Jenn emerged from Jace and Mario's room at the farthest corner.

"I'm so glad you guys are no longer fighting over the wedding." Zelda said to the two princesses. "And thank you Peach, for appointing me as your bridesmaid."

"Aww…" Peach simply blushed.

"Now there's absolutely nothing else that could go wrong this time!" Daisy said.

Jenn turned to her side when she saw Maple. She was also on her wedding gown! Maple looked back at Jenn, gasped in shock, and hurried to a room.

"KYA!" A sharp gasp broke from Jenn's lips as well.

The princesses turned to Jenn, "Huh? What's wrong, Jenn?" Daisy asked as she and the princesses turned to Jenn's direction.

Jenn cried out and jumped in front of them, "Oh, nothing!" she exclaimed, "Nothing that concerns you two girls out of the ordinary!" she laughed nervously, "BRB!"

She took off in a mad dash and burst into the room Maple got in. The princesses remained clueless.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Jenn wailed at Maple once she got in the room. Maple's wedding dress was oversized like that of a _Disney_ Princess. Her hair, shimmering curls with highlights. Pat's evening gown was a golden yellow and her hair was styled in an elegant bun.

Jenn failed to notice Maple's parents were in the room also. They glared at Jenn in reply to her vulgar tone.

"Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Reid." She grinned.

"Girl! That is _exactly_ what I said to her." Pat complained to Jenn.

"Honey, you cannot get married at 13!" Mrs. Reid exclaimed to her daughter, "You're too young for crying out loud!"

"Relax, mom…" Maple said with a sigh.

"Hey, don't you DARE tell your Mom to relax!" barked Mr. Reid, a stern finger at his daughter, " _I_ should be told to relax! And besides, do you know this Jace person? He's a delinquent! A criminal! A rebel! He STOLE an electronic device from a high-tech company in Japan!"

"Err… Dad?" Jenn waved her hands to the parents, "Delinquent's cousin standing here."

"So he makes a petty crime and he gets labeled for life?" Maple rolled her eyes and sighed again, "Dad… I'm not actually getting married to Jace. I'm only doing this so that he won't have to marry that Nintendo princess!"

"What's wrong with marrying a Nintendo princess?" Pat asked.

"Err… babies?" Maple replied.

"Actually you can make babies using Nintendo Magic." Jenn said.

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP ABOUT MAKING BABIES?!" Mr. Reid barked, "I DON'T WANT MY DAUGHTER MAKING BABIES!"

"Honey please. Your blood pressure." Mrs. Reid rested a hand on his chest and an arm around his back, "You have to calm down." Her face lit up, "Hey you know what? How about we go outside for some fresh air? Maybe we can buy those sugar-coated pretzels you like at the pretzels cart. Come on."

She escorted her husband out of the room. They paused by the door when Mrs. Reid faced her daughter again, "We're not done with this discussion Maple."

"Actually we are." Maple said before the parents closed the door behind them. She turned to Pat and Jenn, "You agree with me right? That I'm doing this to save Jace?"

Jenn and Pat looked at each other and back at Maple.

"I thought you were doing this 'cuz you were madly in love with him." Jenn said.

"And you were a diva." Pat replied.

Maple smiled sweetly, "Girls, I am not a diva. Now come on ladies!" she formed a fist and a dark frown wrinkled her face, "I got my man to marry and take away from Princess she-beast!"

The two girls walked out the room, failing to notice Bowser on his Clown Copter floating by the window. He carried a microphone on one hand. Boom boxes were attached to his Clown Copter, picking up static. He had recorded the girls' conversation.

A malicious grin passed over his toothy muzzle, "Not when _I_ have a scoop coming out of this."

**xXx**

"You're lying!"

Daisy was in her room when Bowser came to her with the latest. Bowser and his Lakitu minions had surrounded her with their cameras and microphones aiming at her. Of course, the whole confrontation was being broadcasted live as part of the Royal Wedding National television event.

"Care to face the naked ugly truth?" Bowser pressed a button on the boom box. As the static began to clear up and the sound of Jenn, Pat, Maple, and Maple's parents were being heard, Bowser's toothy grin widened with excitement.

"_Dad! I'm not actually getting married to Jace! I'm only doing this so that he won't have to marry that Nintendo princess!_"

Daisy raised both eyebrows in shock.

"_What's wrong with marrying a Nintendo princess_?"

Bowser pressed the Pause button on the boom box, "Oh! And it gets better." He said before un-pausing.

"…_he's still marrying that slut…_ _I got my man to marry and take away from Princess she-beast._ "

Daisy's jaws dropped to the ground. Every viewer across the country also heard the incriminating evidence. Maple was gonna marry Jace to prevent Daisy from marrying him.

The two Miis reporters floated by the window on Lakitu Clouds to see all the action.

"Woah… did you just heard that?" Tre said to Deen.

"Hmm-Mhn. No she di'int!" Deen snapped his finger.

"Oh yeah. She dee!" Bowser laughed.

A slam resonated in the room. All heads turned around. Daisy was gone. Silence.

**xXx**

Daisy dashed across the Plaza hall, crossing past the invited guests, squeezing through them. Her face was as red ripe as a tomato and her fists were clenched.

The guests knew something was wrong, but didn't know what. They turned around and got greeted by more Paparazzi Lakitu, chasing after the Sarasan Princess.

"Princess!" Bertram's voice caught up with the fuming princess. The Sarasan steward was now next to her, trying to keep up with her pace, "I just heard the news! There's gotta be a mistake!"

"It is not a mistake! It's the _Bowser's Enquirer_!"

"You listen to a sleazy tabloid reporter like Bowser?"

"He had the proof recorded!" she paused on her feet, "By the way, what does the word 'slut' mean?"

Bertram shrugged, "I dunno. Some vulgar word from this planet?"

"AUGH!" she continued on, her pace quickened, her breathing shallow with manic.

**xXx**

"Y'ready honey?" Mr. Reid asked his daughter, "Remember I'm only giving you away for a limited time, okay?"

"Dad. It's a wedding. You're not giving me away for a limited time."

"I'm hoping for a divorce. That's why I said that."

He then looked around the crowded lobby, "Man, the Plaza sure is packed today. More than any other days." He turned back to his daughter, "I'm gonna go find a restroom. You know how I can't control my bladder when I'm scared."

"TMI, Dad."

Mr. Reid gave Maple a kiss on the forehead, "Don't go anywhere now!" He took off. Maple waved back and watched her father disappear into the crowd of fancy suits and evening gowns.

She paced around and let out a sigh. She couldn't believe she was actually going through with this, marrying one of her best friends and secret crush Jace. And he had no idea!

But she had a good reason and that was to pull him away from his wedding with Nintendo princess Daisy. She had nothing against Daisy. It's just that seeing Jace with any other girls made her irk.

"Hello, Maple."

There was that voice. Maple wheeled around and there she was, speaking of the Devil. Her heart jumped.

"Daisy?" Maple's voice quivered, "What…?"

"…am I doing here?" The Sarasan princess asked, "My wedding? Remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Maple said innocently before an uncomfortable pause, "…I have my wedding too, Y'know?"

"Really?" Daisy forced a smile, "With who?" She approached Maple menacingly.

Maple slowly stepped back, a huge cork clung on her throat, "With uhh… Ja…coby. Yeah, Jacoby! Jacoby Jacobs." She grinned, "He's my fiancé."

"Oh I know him." Daisy said perkily, "Heck I saw him!"

Maple's eyes widened, "You did?"

"Yeah! Let me take you to him." Daisy wheeled behind Maple and pushed her forward. Maple tried to slow down but Daisy forced her pace.

They reached a secluded corridor not far from the elevator and Bertram opened a door to reveal a Janitor's closet. There was foul dirty water and a mop inside a yellow bucket; its thick liquid content greatly assaulted Maple's nose. Maple immediately knew what Daisy was planning.

"Err, Daisy. I don't think that's such a good ide—!"

Daisy slammed her palms hard on Maple's back, "—AHHH!" Maple tripped on her toes and her head landed into the infested water. Some old chewing gum and vomited bananas got glued to her now wet hair. Her makeup was running, smearing her face. "…eww…"

"Nice try, princess impostor! I'm marrying Jacen Riders whether you like it or not. And there's not a single person like you whose gonna STOP me!" Daisy swung her arm and before Maple knew it the door slammed before her with a great resound.

She scurried up to her heels and twisted the doorknob. Locked. "Damn it, Daisy!" She threw a heel kick to the door, "You better open this door RIGHT NOW or else—!"

No response from Daisy on the other side. The Sarasan princess gave Bertram a grin and a nod and she departed. His steward followed suit.

"—I'm gonna count to three and you better open the door! One…Two…THREE!"

Maple paused. "okay, till SIX! Four…Five…SIX!"

Nothing.

Kirby was walking down the hall when he heard Maple inside the closet. He stepped before it.

"Till NINE! This time I'll be MAD! Seven…Eight…"

Kirby cocked his puffball body on one side.

"…Nine…"

Kirby stretched out his mouth and great suction plucked the hinges out the door. The door snapped off and it flew into the puffball's mouth.

"TEN!"

Maple flew off the janitor's closet. By the time she realized the door was already open, she almost threw herself over the railing. "EEEEk!" She put on her brake in seconds before losing her balance and staggered back. She fell back on her butt.

"Oh my gosh…" She gasped, her face was streaked blue with fright, and green in barf, "that was close…"

"Hi!" Kirby waved to her. Maple turned to him, "Kirby? Oh! Kirby you saved me!" She wrapped her arms around him, almost in tears.

She then faced him. "How can I ever thank—?"

His body turned to a strange pallor, seaweed hue, and his eyes turned droopy and leaking tears like a cartoon zombie. Before Maple could ask what was wrong, Kirby was already on the ground unconscious.

Then her nose twisted in a wrinkle. A rather disturbing odor was assaulting her sense of smell. It was the janitor's muddy water. It was all over her hair and face and poor Kirby got knocked out by it.

Curious, she took a whiff of her hair. She smelled like a cesspool of horse manure. Immediately her eyes rolled up like slot machine and everything turned black before she hit the ground.

**xXx**

Jace, Mario and Link approached the podium. There was a large tent there shaped like a bride's veil and a crown was on top of it. The podium was the centerpiece of the ballroom, shimmering along with the candle lights lined up the aisle and the rows of guest seats.

He turned to his left and right, observing the guests in this royal wedding. There was to his left Donbe and Hikari, sitting behind a woman with a wig. He could tell she was wearing it because Donbe was tugging on it and the woman was tugging back, fighting him from exposing her hairless head in public. Hikari tried her best, but to no avail, to tell Donbe to leave the woman's head alone.

To his right, he observed a gentleman with a Growlithe, growling intensely at a Purrloin, belonging to a gentlewoman. The Purrloin of course returned the favor. But the rich duo themselves exchanged apologetic grins on behalf of their misbehaving Pokémon.

He also noticed Krom and Liz from _Fire Emblem Awakening_, coming to take their seats next to two teenage girls. The girls blushed and giggled at the sight of the prince with the Dragon Mark. Krom waved back to them and smiled. But Liz didn't appreciate the upfront flirtation and voiced her opinion with a cold glare and a threatening growl at the teen girls. The girls looked away, startled.

"There sure's a lot of people here." Jace commented, catching a glimpse of Starfy jumping up and down, trying to get into the action of the wedding, but his view was blocked by a 6 foot tall grumpy 50-year old man with a stretched jaw.

He also noticed a stocky old man with a fancy hat, already blubbering at a wedding that hasn't even started. He proceeded to blow his nose on the kimono of the Samurai Takamaru.

"Yes. There is," replied Mario.

"And look at the minister." Link pointed forward the podium. Jace froze up.

"Jigglypuff is the priest?" He stared in disbelief, at the sight of Jigglypuff chirping. The singing Pokémon wore a Bishop's hat.

There's-a always a Jigglypuff Minister in every wedding." Mario informed. "I hope it is-a okay for you."

"Well I…! I…uhh…. ….I…" He floundered for words but nothing came due to the shock. Usually Jigglypuffs put people to sleep with their singings. At least that's what he knew from the _Pokémon_ games and the anime series.

He finally stepped into the podium. His attention never left the Pokémon. "Jigglypuff!" The Pokémon smiled at him.

He politely waved at the pink ball with huge glistening eyes, "…heyyy, you…" he nervously chuckled, then leaned to Mario and Link when the Pokémon wasn't looking, "Just as long as he doesn't start singing during the ceremony, then we should be good right?"

The two Nintendo characters shrugged.

**xxx**

A muddy bride was running on her heels down the wide plaza halls, catching the attention of many guests with foul stench and brown sewage puddles behind. Her pink puffball companion followed her, further raising suspicions. Many discussed she was heading for the ballroom, where the Royal Wedding was taking place. Something big was about to go down there!

**xxx**

"Here she comes." Jace said, noticing Daisy standing at the end of the aisle in her ravishing light-mint wedding dress. Next to her was Luigi, playing the role of the man giving away the bride to the groom.

The congregation got off their seats and watched Daisy walk down the aisle with Luigi, toward Jace.

"Just-a be cool." Mario whispered to him, "It's-a only a wedding."

"Uh-huuh…" Jace squeaked.

"_Your_ wedding."

Jace nodded, swallowing hard, "Uh-huuh…"

The many smiles and greets from the guests greeted Luigi and Daisy warmly to the ceremony. Daisy remained fixed on Jace. She broadly smiled at him and sent him a cute wave of her hand. Jace smirked and waved back at the princess.

"Aw man… I really wish somebody could save me from this wedding." he whispered through his gritted teeth.

All of the sudden the double doors swung open, slamming two Koopa guards who were standing guard to the door like pancakes. The guests have turned their attention to the door. It was Maple, on her wedding dress! She looked furious. The guests no longer smiled and suddenly got on edge.

Jace, Mario, and Link watched Maple also, dumbstruck and staring in disbelief. They looked at each other, and back.

Maple was closing in. The guests broke an aroused gasp, forcing Daisy and Luigi to finally turn around.

"What the—?" Daisy startled.

"I'm about to whack that bobble off your head you little—!" she threw a blast across Daisy's jaws, finishing her vulgar insult on cue.

Luigi jumped out of the way. Half of the guests rose from their seats, including Maple's parents.

Maple body-slammed Daisy and wrapped her fingers around the princess's neck.

The girls wringed and tossed. Claws tore through white fabrics; shoes flew across the aisles; Daisy soon got the upper-hand and wrapped her fingers around Maple's face, twirled her, and pinned her to the ground. The catfight got the crowd aroused.

"Everyone! Photo Op!" Pat commanded the audience and pulled out her phone. Cameras, phones and tablets suddenly flew off pockets and, like the candles, lit up the room, constantly flashing from their cam lens.

The two Koopa guards were slowly recovering from the pancake door slam on them when the double doors swung open again, slamming them once more like pancakes. Princess Peach and Zelda have broken through the door and froze in disbelief to the brawl. Then Jenn followed behind.

"Aye mamia, should-a we stop this?!" Mario exclaimed, "This was SO not-a part of the PLAN!"

"I got it!" Luigi ran to the two girls. Jace buried his face on his palm, mortifyingly watching through his fingers Luigi losing his attempt to pull the girls away for he too got sucked into the wedding catfight.

Hunt came to the podium from the back door behind the stage. He quickly joined Jace, his sight never left the brawling ladies.

"Oh god, this would've never happened if I didn't end up in Sarasa Land in the first place…" Jace complained. "I got brides fighting over me. And they're not even HOT."

"Hey, look on the bright side." Hunt said, "At least someone else wants to sabotage your wedding and it's not Peach."

Jenn and Link ran down the aisle. Jenn tried to break up the fight but was afraid to get sucked into it like Luigi.

Link pulled out a Gale Boomerang and swung at the girls. A powerful gust of wind formed in between and yanked them apart. Maple and Daisy propelled and landed hard on their butts. Luigi twirled in one place, dizzy, beaten up and half-naked. Link grabbed back his returning Gale Boomerang.

Daisy scurried back to her feet and so did Maple. Their nails were about to jump at each other again but Jenn jumped in the middle. Mario, Jace, Hunt, Peach and Zelda rushed down the aisle to help. Kirby was last to show up.

"Okay! We're BREAKING UP!" Jenn screamed, "Breaking up!"

The brides were out of breath. Maple snapped her arm off Jenn and paced around. Daisy wiped her soothed nose; her gaze never left her attacker.

"What the heck is going on?" Jenn barked, "Y'all fighting over Jace? Can't you all act like mature women?"

Jenn's nose suddenly twitched. She sniffed around until she turned to Maple, "what died in here?"

She approached Maple and was about to smell her hair. Maple jumped back, "DON'T smell me." She said, "Unless you wanna get knocked out like Kirby."

Kirby muttered, nodding in agreement. The crowd frowned in disgust, imagining what she was smelling like.

"Wait. So it's true?" Jace approached Maple, "You did all of this… just to save me from my wedding?"

Maple's knees went weak at the sight of Jace. His hunky form towered a couple of inches over her. "Isn't that obvious?" She blushed.

"…mmmmm, girl! I'm smelling love!" Pat cooed from among the congregation.

Jace tried to speak but was too dumbstruck for words. "I…I don't know what to say…" he finally spoke, "…except…" his arms opened wide, "…thank you."

Maple opened her arms as well, but then both stopped short. Jace hesitated, "Err…you might wanna take a shower first."

"Oh…" Daisy menacingly approached the group. Daggers were gleaming in her eyes, "So that's how it's going to be huh? All of you gals against me and my love?" she forcefully wrapped her arm around Jace's shoulder, almost tugging him away from the group. Jace winced.

She turned her attention toward Maple, "You." She growled, "I'm calling you out. Sudden…Death…Braaaawl."

The whole ballroom transformed into the _EarthBound_ town of Onett. The wedding congregation doubled into a massive sports crowd and filled the streets with intense cheers. Maple and Daisy were in the arena. But so were Peach, Zelda, Mario, Link, Jigglypuff, Luigi, Jace, Hunt, and Jenn.

Luigi looked on the cheering crowd, the color of his face drained and his legs trembled.

[LOOKS LIKE THIS WEDDING IS GONNA TURN INTO A GOOD OLD-FASHION SUDDEN DEATH BRAWL!]

[GET READY FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIVES!]

The Nintendo cast all faced Daisy, threateningly wielding a Dodgeball with one hand over her head. She cackled. The cast stammered.

"I'M NOT GETTING BEAT UP AGAIN!" Luigi darted for the crowd.

"Wait for me, Luigi!" Jenn followed him, "I'm the bridesmaid and that dress is a RENTAL!"

Hunt turned to Jace. "You're on your own buddy." he quickly stepped away from the arena to join Jenn and Luigi.

Jace looked back at his friend who just abandoned him. Jigglypuff turned around and fled to hide behind Jace's legs. The pink Pokémon quivered. Jace briefly looked at him before turning back to Mario, Peach, Zelda, Link, and Maple, all facing a dark-looking Daisy.

Daisy tossed her Dodgeball in the air and lets it land back to her palm. The Nintendo characters were frozen just by the mere sight of the ball.

"Daisy…" Mario gently crept toward her, "put the Dodgeball down so we can-a talk about it."

"Oh, trying to drive up a bargain heh?" she clutched on the ball, "Dream on."

"AAAYYY—!" She threw her shoulder back; her wielding arm reached above her head, and took a step forward.

"—YAAAA!" She brought her arm across her body. The dodgeball flew from her grasp and sped across the battlefield. Mario, Peach, Zelda and Link jumped out of the way. Jace threw himself to the ground seconds before the Dodgeball could struck him. The ball went right through Jigglypuff.

A loud PAF filled the arena and Jigglypuff skyrocketed off the screen, screaming.

[JIGGLYPUFF DEFEATED!]

Jace turned to where Jigglypuff used to be. He then looked back at Daisy. Cold chills ran through his spine at the sight of her stony smile.

"Ahh!" He quickly scuffled to his feet and ran to the crowd.

"Jace!" Luigi shouted. "Hurry!" Jenn pleaded. "In here!" Hunt exclaimed.

Jace hid behind Hunt, Jenn and Luigi. "Help me!" He gasped, "She's kill-crazy!"

"Don't worry Jace!" Maple cried out from the arena, "I'm gonna save you from her!"

"And I'm gonna defeat YOU for HIM!" Daisy barked back at Maple.

"Daisy, please." Mario approached Daisy from behind, "Can-a you—"

Daisy threw an elbow jab on his stomach. Mario gagged, back hunched forward. Twisting her body forward she lifted her left leg and slammed it across his jaws. He flew off the screen.

[MARIO DEFEATED!]

Link dashed toward Daisy with a war cry, his two hands lunged at her. Daisy blocked the attack with her two hands. Both characters were locked in a struggle.

"I'm not wielding a sword because I don't want to hurt a princess! So calm down, it's not worth it!"

"You know what's not worth it? You, not wielding a sword! Too bad for you!"

She threw her arms up, pulling Link off the ground and sent him soaring into the air. She then jumped up, twirled her body and landed a heel kick on his crotch. The crowd groaned in pain. Link flew off the screen.

[LINK DEFEATED!]

She then landed right in front of Zelda. Zelda gasped, startled by her presence. The Sarasan princess threw a back fist across her face, sending her flying.

[ZELDA DEFEATED!]

She then turned to Peach. "YOU!" she struck a finger at her.

Peach stepped back, shaking her head with a pleading look not to get hurt. Daisy didn't listen. She dashed toward her with a war cry. Peach squealed.

The crowd groaned as they watched Peach soaring into defeat.

[PEACH DEFEATED!]

Daisy finally faced Maple. Maple spread her legs apart. Her left leg stretched back, her right knee bent forward. She formed a Kung Fu pose.

"Bring it on, girlfriend." Maple taunted with a beckoning of her finger, even though she was shaking like a leaf. "You know you can't beat…" she tauntingly ran her hands across her wedding dress, "…this!"

"Oh you did NOT just tell me to bring it!"

She dashed toward Maple. Maple threw an uppercut across her chin and the princess flew off the screen. The crowd roared in cheers. Maple curtsied and waved her hand to the crowd, smiling like a pageant beauty.

[OHHHH!] The crowd let out a startled gasp. [SHE'S NOT DEFEATED YET?!]

Maple whirled around. Daisy descended at her and nailed a heel to her face. The Irish bride flew off the screen and the crowd roared once more.

[MAPLE'S NOT DEFEATED EITHER?!]

[WHAT'S GOING ON?!]

[GUESS IT'S A SPECIAL BRAWL FOR OUR BRAWLING BRIDES! TWO STOCKS FOR EACH!]

[BUT PEACH WAS A BRIDE TOO! SO WHY ISN'T SHE HERE?!]

Maple jumped back to the stage. Daisy danced on her toes, taunting Maple, "Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah! Nyah! Nyah!"

Maple jumped off the platform and swung her crowned veil to her face. Daisy flew off the screen and the crowd roared twice as loud. But then they groaned as she returned to the stage from the off-screen. She wasn't knocked out yet!

"Are you serious right now?!" Maple barked. She turned around, spotted a Cracker Launcher and grabbed it, pointing its muzzle at the landing Daisy. The Sarasan princess let out a startled gasp at the sight of the Launcher and Maple's murder scowl sewed on her face.

"Come at me Princess!" she yelped.

WATCH OUT! The crowd roared.

Maple looked back and a large black van cut through her from out of the blue. She flew off the screen, screeching in pain.

GAME!

**xXx**

The Ballroom crowd stared in disbelief. Peach was on the ground unconscious. Maple and Zelda crawled down the aisle, their dresses half-ripped and exposed. Priest Jigglypuff was dangling upside-down on a chandelier. All gaped and murmured by that epic wedding brawl that just happened. The chandelier finally snapped off its last cord and Jigglypuff plummeted to the ground. The crowd cringed as the bulbs and glass shattered around the puffball Pokémon, forcing the lights to go off.

"…ow…" Jigglypuff groaned.

"This is impossible…" Jenn gasped, "Daisy single-handedly destroyed all the brides…" she turned to Mario and Link crooked on benches, "…grooms…" then she turned to Jigglypuff, "…and Jigglypuff standing in her way of her happiness."

"That's right everybody!" Daisy barked, "That's right! Make this Sudden Death brawl a 300% Light and Fast Brawl, or 900% Light, Fast Brawl with 100-Stock and Explosive items for all I care! NO ONE IS GETTING IN MY WAY OF HAPPINESS!"

The crowd remained quiet.

"I won!" Daisy gushed, "And that means…"

She turned to Jace, bags under her eyes made her face extra creepy under the ballroom lights, "Jace is mine… forever."

She stepped into the aisle. She was missing a shoe, her hair was all messy and dangled, and her top was ripped to the torso, exposing only her flower-shaped bra.

She fluffed her hair, wiped some running mascara off and adjusted her brassiere. Jace briefly glared at her scantily appearance before meeting her eyes again. "So!" she noticed his gaze with a smile, "Shall we go on?"

He forced a chuckle, "B-but Daisy… what if I want to speak now or forever hold my peace?"

Daisy giggled again, "Oh Jakey Poo." She playfully threw a fist across his shoulder but Jace jumped back like a frightened puppy, "The 'I dos' don't come until later in the show. Now…" she turned to the unconscious Jigglypuff, "Our priest is unable to speak right now, but we can get Bertram to speak for us."

Bertram jumped to the podium and cleared his throat, "Dearly beloved…"

"Yes. Dearly beloved." Jace grinned, "I'm out! Sincerely, Jace Riders. See ya!"

He turned around and was ready to jump off the podium when Sarasan soldiers quickly came before him. They drew large machetes, their blade tip barely rubbing on his tux. Jace whimpered as he is forcefully moved back to the podium before Daisy. Soon many Sarasan filled the ballroom from the aisle to every corner. The congregation brooded.

"Sorry, Jakey Poo!" Daisy said, "But in every wedding, there is no such thing as a runaway groom. Which is why they have to step into the aisle before the bride."

"So the brides get to run away, but we grooms can't?" he exclaimed unfairly, and suddenly all the guys in the congregation shouted out, "Yeah!"

The girls stared sternly at them and so did those who were at the podium.

"Now…" Daisy cleared her throat, turning back to Jace, "Let us proceed with the ceremony." Daisy said before turning to Bertram, "Speak now forever hold their peace, yadda-yadda-yadda… now onto the Rings." she turned around, "White Yoshi?"

White Yoshi strutted down the aisle and stretched out its tongue before Jace and Daisy. Two golden Rings rested on its tip, damped and soggy. Jace cringed in disgust. Daisy reached up for the golden jewels.

A loud slam abruptly filled the ballroom. "STEP AWAY FROM THE RINGS!"

Almost every guest was on their feet at the sight of Professor Layton standing before the opened double doors. He had on hand a rolled up contract.

"What?" Daisy exclaimed.

"Professor Layton?" Jace was startled.

"About time you showed up, professor." Luigi said to him.

"Princess Daisy." Layton boldly walked down the aisle. "I'm sorry to inform you, but this wedding is by law a felony to the Sarasa Kingdom!"

"WHAT?!" Daisy exploded, the color on her face drained faster than water to a sink. Jace was wide-eyed and barely breathing. Questions and speculation flew across the ballroom.

Hunt, Jenn, Maple and Pat all glanced at each other. A flood of happiness suddenly coursed through Hunt and Jenn's veins. Maple let out a shrilling squeal, barely unable to contain her delight, and Pat shouted out "PRAISE THE LOOOORD!" with a triumphant voice, "It's a miracle!"

Mario, Link, Zelda, and Peach gathered around the aisle just as Layton and Luigi stepped before the frozen Jace and Daisy. The OCs joined them half a second later.

"Wh-wh-wh…" Daisy's voice came out raspy, "What is the meaning of…?!" she swallowed, "What are you talking about…?"

"Professor Layton here is talking about a felony." Luigi repeated, "If you were to marry Jace right here and now, you'd be committing it. In fact, you are committing one right now with the ceremony."

Daisy felt light-headed, disoriented. She stepped back and looked around as if searching for a chair to sit on. Link approached her and held her balance by the arm.

"Mr. Luigi Mario here contacted me earlier about helping them find a loophole in the Sarasa Kingdom's Decree of Marriage." Layton said, "And he did well to do just that, because according to the Decree's Section 5 Subsection 2 Paragraph III, Sub-paragraph XII…"

Layton opened the contract. The end of it landed on the ground and slithered down the aisle to the middle of the ballroom. Everyone in the congregation caught sight of a couple of words scripted in tiny fancy palace-style fonts, and lines bearing the signatures of many other royals before Daisy.

Layton cleared his throat and read, "…_the rescued from the Tower and his or her rescuing significant other may marry at any places they wish in the Nintendo World. However it is a felony to marry your significant other if that significant other is from any other worlds not related to, has no significant relationship to, or is very distant from, Sarasa Land and the Nintendo world whatsoever, whether the significant other is the rescuer from the Tower or the rescued._"

Huge smiles crept on everyone's faces. The crowd was overwhelmed with a mix of happiness, disappointment and surprise. Daisy snatched the decree from Layton's hands and scanned its words, desperately searching for that paragraph, or if lucky, any other loophole that will overrule that loophole.

She finally shook her head in defeat. "But that's impossible!" she muttered, looked up and waved the decree in the air flustered, "I organized this whole thing!" she stammered, "I got the lights, the ornaments, the guests, the chefs, the Castle Cake…"

"I even got the press!" her face flushed crimson of anger and panic, "AND a KeroKeroCola fountain ordered! A KeroKeroCola! Some guests revealed some deep dark secrets because of THIS!" She threw her arms across the ballroom.

Layton shook his head, "I'm sorry, Princess Daisy. But… I hate to be the wedding crasher who's actually gonna end a wedding but…" he shrugged, "Wedding's off!"

The OCs and the Nintendo characters cheered in panic. Jenn, Hunt, and Maple hugged Jace, who was still hardly breathing.

"Jace! Congratulations!" Jenn exclaimed, "You don't have to marry Daisy anymore because you're not from the Nintendo World!"

"Yeah! Congratulations!" Mario cheered and Link added, "Way to go, young lad."

"Now I get to marry you!" Maple laughed out loud, but then she met her parents' eyes searing with anger. "…in the future of course." she corrected herself, "because I'm still 13. But STILL, you can wait for me!"

"I don't believe this." Jace uttered before a huge smile came up to his face and joyous tears formed under his olive eyes, "I don't believe this! I don't have to get married!" he stepped out of the aisle and shouted, "Hey, everyone! I don't have to get married at all! I dodged a bullet!"

The crowd couldn't help but to rejoice right now at Jace's happiness, despite how wrong that statement from him was in the ballroom. Daisy felt her heart crushed.

She approached Jace, repulsively frowning at him and his comrades. "I can't believe this is how you really feel about the commitment we were meant to share together." she said, shaking her head. Jace stopped smiling. His heart wrung with pity.

"Congratulations. You got your wish." Daisy pulled her corsage from her wrist and slammed it on the floor. "Wedding's off." She toppled down the aisle and walked out. Some people in the crowd moaned in disappointment, expecting a spectacular wedding and feeling the bride's pain.

Jace had that wounded look in his eyes. He felt a huge weight of guilt on his shoulders. But the crowd failed to notice it. He quickly shut them tight and let out an aching cry, "…wait!"

Daisy was about to head out the double doors when she, and everyone else, heard Jace. All heads whirled to his direction.

Layton turned to him curiously.

Jenn, Maple and Hunt stepped in front of Jace, glaring at him, "Jace! What are you doing?" Maple hissed. "Wedding's off! Wedding's freaking OFF!"

"Is that empathy I smell?" Hunt sternly pointed a finger, stopping Jace from pleading, "Dude! There better be none of that empathy moment from you today! You know how you get all Good Samaritan like on people with that look. STOP IT!"

Jace barely formed a word. "Yeah!" Jenn interfered next, "You need to wipe that puppy dog look off your face or I'm gonna smack you upside the head! You're NOT marrying Daisy!"

Jace was silent.

"Obviously, something's on your mind, Mr. Riders." Layton asked. "Care to share to the congregation?"

"No!" Jenn and Maple both barked.

"He has nothing to share!" Maple added, "NOTHING!"

"Girls! You didn't even let me speak." Jace argued, "I want Daisy's wedding to continue."

"But ah… Jace. You heard the Layton." Mario said.

"The wedding is illegal." Luigi added.

Jace shook his head and smiled, "I know that." he said, "But I know who's gonna be the lucky groom." he gave Daisy and Luigi a hopeful smile. Both Daisy and Luigi cocked their heads on one side, bewildered.

**xXx**

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Nintendo World MiiVerse!" a Mii announcer shouted out loud, "Give it up for your newlyweds: Mr. and Ms. LUIGI MARIO!"

Luigi and Daisy emerged before the crowd, making a dazzling entrance. Luigi was in a snow-white tux and Daisy was now in a new wedding gown. The crowd threw rice grains and confettis over their heads.

Luigi moved and swayed past the crowd, carrying Daisy in his arms. He struggled on his twig legs.

"Hurry up Loogey. Pick up the pace!" Daisy insulted through her smiling teeth focused on the crowd. "Even zombies walk faster than you and I'd rather get caught dead being carried by one."

"Oh honey trust me, that day is coming!" Luigi barked.

Link and Kirby watched the duo crossing past the crowd, glasses of Kero Cola on hands. "Ah, first sign of a happy couple." Link commented.

The duo tapped their glasses together. "To love. And the happy couple." he smiled.

"Waoh!" Kirby was about to take a sip but Link snatched it from his hands, "No-no." he giggled nervously. Kirby looked back at him bewildered.

"I'm so glad Jace don't have to get married." Maple said with a relieved sigh. "And Mario and Peach didn't need to get married either!"

Hans stared at her dimly. "Why? 'cause he's your baby daddy?"

Maple's face twisted angrily, "Why do you ALWAYS find the pleasure to grind me whenever you can?"

Hans shrugged nonchalantly.

Jenn found Maple and Hans and soon Peach, Mario and Zelda joined them. "Hey, has anyone seen Jace?" Jenn asked, but the two OCs shrugged helplessly.

"Didn't you hear?" Zelda started, "He had to leave to meet with Bowser down the alley."

Mario, Peach and the OCs exclaimed, "BOWSER?!"

"But why?" Peach wondered.

"Must be because of the whole wedding deal." Mario guessed before turning to Jenn, "Didn't you mention earlier that Bowser told you about the Twisted Tower of Commitment?"

"Yeah." Jenn replied uneasily, "I can't believe that overgrown turtle spoke the truth." she sighed, her concern back on Jace, "Maybe Jace went to thank him for the advice or something… Either way, I don't like it."

**xXx**

Jace could hear hounds barking from a distance. Every side around him turned black, closing in with walls filled with graffiti and hung with the foulest odor of public trash cans and unconscious bums who have been drinking too much.

His heart drummed faster the farther he was from the street lights to the city's darkness. Of all of his life he's never managed to go alone to dark alleys before… until now.

"I've been expecting you."

His heart almost came out of his chest. A large creature sitting on some kind of throne called him out. He slowly approached until he saw the creature's face: Bowser, reclining on an old recliner on top of a pile of garbage and destroyed automobile.

"I see you've ditched the tabloid hat." Jace said, noticing his flaming hair dancing in the night breeze.

Bowser just shrugged, "Meh… I just lost interest."

Uneasiness suddenly crawled in Jace's skin. "Do I really have to do this?" he asked.

"Hey!" the Koopa King barked, pointing a stern finger at him, "You said it yourself. Not me. In your EXACT words: 'The day you will speak the truth will be the day when I clip your toenails and shave the hair between your toes!'."

Jace gulped.

"Now Feast your eyes!" Bowser stretched out his feet before Jace.

Jace turned green. The foul smell and the look of yellowish crooked nails with growing fungi under unkempt hair bushes between the toes was enough to even make a zombie hurl.

Jace felt tears in his eyes from the burning stench. "…oh god…why didn't I say 'when pigs fly' like everybody else?"

Bowser wiggled his toes, "Come on. I don't have all night, y'know. Still need to do lots of evil."

Jace dropped the backpack, pulled out of it a surgical mask and snapped it on to his face. Then he put on surgical gloves to his hands and finally lots of medium to large-sized surgical laceration instruments, including knives and a giant hedge cutter. Snip! Snip!

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

The White Knight's identity will be revealed following the epic season finale! And, as previously stated, it is not Jace! His name and identity will be exposed very soon!

But before then, Thanksgiving comes early. And you can celebrate it with Kirby, Dedede, Meta Knight, and... Jace's mom? There's a lot to be thankful for: like having Smash Bros. crashing a ballroom thanksgiving feast, and a wedding secret spreading out like wildfire.

Warning! New Challenger Approaching: Palutena joins the cast in the season finale! Fitting in is gonna be VERY hard for her. And so is retrieving her special Mirror, which very well relates to our 3rd Dimensional plot! Hmm...

And November 18th is the epic season finale, which will end in a cliffhanger. Who will survive? But one thing for sure: villain hacker Ryan Somith will also debut in the season finale!

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Thanksgiving in 3D_


	9. Ep7:: Thanksgiving in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D  
**

* * *

_Thanksgiving in 3D_

* * *

A horde of Waddle Dees sporting ninja costumes crashed through the windows and landed into the Empire State Building's 102nd Floor Galleria. The Waddle Dees pulled out their Ninja weapons and watched one of the ninjas descending from the ceiling. The Ninja looked different. Its costume was a bluish color and its skin underneath the garment was a pink gumball color; different from the Waddle Dee's burgundy shades.

The Waddle Dees approached the Ninja, warily aware he was not one of them. The Ninja looked around, feeling surrounded.

The Ninja pulled out a Shuriken and flung it at the horde. Half of the horde got hit by the shuriken, and the entire Waddle Dee army went into attack mode.

The Ninja jumped and the Waddle Dee crashed at each other. The Ninja floated midair and flung a rain of shuriken at the Waddle Dees. The Waddle Dees ran around in panic. The puffball Ninja landed on its feet, only to get grabbed from behind by a Waddle Dee. The Ninja grabbed the Waddle Dee from behind and flung it over to its comrades, bowled over. More Waddle Dee came at him, but the Ninja delivered kicks and punches, knocking them out. The Ninja stood on its toes and in one place twirled and threw a tornado of shuriken at its enemies, slashing them all.

The Ninja slowed its twirling down and glanced over at its enemies, all on the ground.

The Ninja turned its dark eyes toward an object encased inside a glass. It was a star. A star with a chocolate cover but with an ebony shade. It radiated under the city's moonlight piercing through the shattered windows.

The Ninja slowed its twirling down and glanced over at its enemies, all on the ground.

The Ninja turned its dark eyes toward an object encased inside a glass. It was a Warp Star. But that Star was different. It had a smooth chocolate cover with a smooth creamy dark shade, gleaming with brilliance and radiating under the city's moonlight piercing through the shattered windows.

After what felt like a minute of staring, the ball-shaped Ninja proceeded and cautiously approached the object. He slowly reached up and lay hand on the cold glass encased around the Star.

"_PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW! PHEW-PHEW!_ "

The security alarm shrieked. The entire room blared and the red light started blinking without warning. The startled Ninja looked around, a stunned look left on his round face. The double doors to the Galleria swung open besides him. He turned to look.

The main lights switched on and a group of security guards came rushing inside. They skidded to a full stop with a stunned look on their faces. The room was empty, yet all the artifacts remained… even the Star.

"A robbery?" One of the security guards exclaimed.

"No chiz." The second security guard sounded annoyed, "That's the third time this week! Check the security cameras! Now!"

Half of the group dispersed, while the other two guards stared at the encased glass, where the shining Star remained untouched.

**xXx**

"Sorry Mom, I would love to come for Thanksgiving dinner, but you see, I have a big History paper to deal with before Monday, and I really need to catch up." Jace paced back and forth in his Suite, on his cell with his mom.

It has not yet been six months since Jace moved out of the house to spend summer vacation with Hunt in Tokyo and already his mom missed him, even though they've been in touch since the day he left and have been catching up, in detail, on everything they've been up to in their lives.

Except the Nintendo 3DS story.

Hunt who was in the room tried to listen in on the conversation while vacantly staring across the room and then back to his Programming Book.

"Yeah, Mom. I know. I'm not getting into anymore trouble." Jace said, "Like you've said before, age _does_ mellow a person." He couldn't resist rolling his eyes a little at that comment. Hunt automatically did the same.

"Yes, yes. You're wise… and beautiful too." He then smiled, "Aw, thanks Mom. Love you too. 'kay, bye."

He hung up the phone. He then noticed Hunt staring at him with a smirk on his face. He shrugged, "What?"

"Dude, can't you ever tell your Mom the truth?"

"Have you met my Mom?" Jace argued, "She's like a beast that always gets what she wants. I love her though. And besides, if I didn't tell her that I'm busy all this weekend, she's gonna keep pressuring me into this Thanksgiving dinner."

Hunt sat up, "What's wrong with Thanksgiving?" He protested, "It's the best time of the year. I, for once, am looking forward to having dinner with my parents. They're coming to the Plaza for a delicious feast." He paused, "Are you sure you still don't want to go?"

"Nah, thanks for the invite." Jace said, "But I'd prefer spending it with the Smash Brothers than to spend it with my Mom in the same room with Daniel." He could sense bitterness in his tone of voice at the sound of that name.

Princess Peach along with Mario, Luigi, and Jenn came in the room at that moment. All of them were carrying plates of teas and butter cookies. "Who's-a Daniel?" Mario asked Jace curiously.

Peach gasped, "Is he a handsome prince?"

Jace frowned upon that answer.

"He's the boyfriend." Jenn replied before Jace could reply, "The hunky heartthrob show-off."

He scoffed, "Ever since my Dad passed away, this guy has been a thorn on my side with his big collection of BMWs and Porsches… he can't buy my love, y'know?"

"True." Hunt stood up, "But he _can_ buy me a Ferrari."

Jace immediately pulled out the 3DS, flicked the stylus and turned on the device, "How about I conjure you up a Ferrari?"

"Ooh, yeaaah!" Hunt clapped his hands excitedly.

"Guys, no!" Jenn tried to warn.

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Luigi protested as well. "Ohh no you don't!" Mario quickly snatched the 3DS from Jace's hands.

"Hey!" Jace exclaimed and went for the 3DS. Mario jumped over him and stepped on his head. Hunt who tried to reach Mario up high ends up falling on his butt, but quickly managed to grab him by the leg. Mario charged his Fire ball. Hunt quickly let go. "HA!HA!" Jace recovered and pounced on Mario to the ground. "Gotcha!" "HAI!" Mario squealed. "HEY!" Luigi barked before pouncing on Jace, then Hunt pounced on Luigi and quickly the commotion turned to a wrestling event for the device.

The door creaked open, and Luigi went for it, but he paid no attention to who was at the door.

"Oh gosh guys! Stop this! Y'all acting like animals!" Jenn complained.

"B-be careful everyone! I got hot snacks here!" Peach complained also, trying to dodge the slamming and ducking besides her.

"Pass it to me Mario! Pass it to me!" Luigi exclaimed, closing in to the open door and the shadow towering behind him.

Mario tossed him the 3DS. But Luigi didn't catch it on time and slammed first on the shadow behind him. All attention turned on the uninvited guest in the room, and all eyes went wide by who they saw. Luigi screamed like a girl and fainted.

Jace, Hunt and Mario quickly got off the floor stunned by the sight of an elegant woman before them.

"Mom?" Jace exclaimed.

Jace's mother, simply called Mai-Lee, was an elegant supermodel-looking woman in her late 40s from Tokyo, Japan but well-known in Hollywood, California… as a supermodel. She had high cheekbones, cat-eyes, shiny strawberry-colored lips, and the darkest most ravishing ebony wavy hairstyle, adorned with a single strand of lavender highlight. A tiny _Christian Dior_ goldenrod purse rested on the flexor of her elbow, and she sported a Japanese cotton tube dress matching the purse. Pearl necklace graced her neck.

Mai-Lee stared at Luigi before staring back at Jace. Her stunned expression vanished into a bright smile.

"I thought I was in the wrong room. But OHH…" she rushed to Jace's side for a hug, "My little Jay-Bird! I am so happy to see you again!" she released him after a good squeeze, hands gripping his shoulders, "Surprised to see me?!"

"Y…yeah…" Jace's voice quivered in pain, "The hug wasn't that much surprising."

"Oh!" She let go off him. "Sorry."

"Mrs. Riders!" Hunt stood before Mai-Lee before she could turn her attention back to Luigi, "Or uhh… Mrs. Dimentio… or Mrs… Madhan…"

"Call me Mai." She smiled. "Y'know. Mai-Lee."

"R-Right. Uhh…" Hunt blushed, "Wh-what brings you hee-here…? In this…place?"

"Yeah!" Jenn jumped in, "What brings you here?" she threw a quick glance at the frozen Mario and Peach standing behind Mai-Lee. "How did you GET OUT from Hollywood, and got OFF the plane, and got HERE on such short notice on time oh so FAST?!"

"Oh well, I found a great deal on first-class fare for the thanksgiving weekend and I must say they got the best deals on the house you won't believe it…" The distracted Mai-Lee went on talking as Jace quickly shoved Mario and Peach back to the kitchen, summoned Mario's Green Pipe from his 3DS, shoved them both into it, made it vanish and with a whisk of the stylus and a quick flash of light, the fainted Luigi was gone.

"…but what I don't believe seeing are three animated 3D characters." Mai-Lee turned to Jace's direction, hoping to see she wasn't dreaming, "Now are my eyes deceiving me or…?"

Hunt turned on the TV in the room and Jace slapped on Mai-Lee's face 3D glasses. Luckily, the _Looney Tunes Show 3D_ was on,

"You must have seen this funny looking cartoon when you walked in, Mom." Jace said, "Fully 3D. All glorious quality."

Mai-Lee blinked under the 3D specs. "Oh yeah…!" she smiled again, but then turned confused again, "…but I don't… remember wearing 3D glas…!"

"What are you doing here Mom?" Jace interrupted, "I mean, besides barging in here and ask all kind of questions?"

"Oh right!" Mai-Lee removed the 3D glasses to face her son, "It's about Thanksgiving, honey Jay! Since you can't come to Hollywood and celebrate it with me and the family because of your busy schedules, I decided to bring Thanksgiving right here in New York City!"

"Are you Mommy for real?"

"We'll have a big fashionable Thanksgiving dinner here at the Plaza!"

"Wait, Aunt Mai… we can't have a thanksgiving party in such tiny place." Jenn said, "We can't fit!"

"Of course we can't." Mai-Lee replied, "It's too small for just 50 people."

The teens glanced at each other before facing the middle-aged vixen, "Wait… 50?" Hunt repeated.

"Which is why I've booked us the most expensive suite in the Plaza, the Imperial Suite. The only suite adopted by Our First Lady herself Michelle Obama for family Thanksgiving dinners. And I'm inviting Grandma Shampoo and my boyfriend Daniel to the party too!"

Jace's eyes could fill up his head with absolute shock.

"They're checking in downstairs as we speak." Mai-Lee went on, "Oh, and you can invite anyone you know."

"Sweeeet!" Hunt danced on his toes, "Now I can get Daniel to buy me a Ferrari!" Hunt was out the door like a lightning bolt.

"Yeahh…" Jace grinned nervously. Mai gently rubbed her son's shoulder, "Oh, honey. I understand how you feel about Daniel. But you should know we've come so far since your father's…" looking away she paused, reminiscing that tragic day she lost her husband. She turned back to her son with a faint smile, "…since your father's passing."

Jace glanced at Jenn who nodded at him this expression to do the right thing. He turned back to his mom, pausing. His mom was quite happy with that guy, so he just has to accept it.

"Right." He said finally with a smile, "Once he comes, I'll greet him with open arms."

The joyous Mai Lee hugged her son. Jace's smile vanished once he looked out the closed sliding doors. Kirby was waving and squealing at him on top of the balcony's railing, "Hiyo!" Jenn also noticed the pink puffball also.

Jace quickly pulled out of his mom's hug, "…right after I get rid of this pest out the window. Don't look!" he warned just as she was about to look, "It's a creepy thing."

He quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it at the window. The startled Kirby fell back and dropped down the building squealing, "YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAA…!"

Mai looked out the balcony window and saw nothing, "What was that sound?" she wondered.

"That was the pest." Jace said quickly, "Be right back!" and out the door he went through. Mai remained puzzled. She turned to Jenn. Jenn grinned.

"He was dropped… on the head as a baby."

Mai crossed her arms and glared at Jenn with an intense look. "That was a joke!" Jenn quickly rescinded. "I mean… a really… mean joke… okay, I'll shut up."

xXx

"Nineteen years?"

"No."

"Twenty years?"

"No."

"Twenty-Four years?"

"You're getting colder."

"Twenty-two years?"

"Colder."

"Aw come on, Daniel!" Hunt whined, "When am I getting this Ferrari?"

Daniel, a six-foot tall gentleman with a chubby face but a robust physique under a silk business suit briefly turned to Hunt, "Sooner than you think." He replied before his haughty brown eyes turned back up the staircase. But then he let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes, "Grandma…"

He turned around and there she was: a four-foot elderly with a light-brown sagging face and curly gray hair adorned around her head like a leaf crown. "You could at least help out a little, Daniel!" She hissed, dragging with her a suitcase weighing more than a hundred pound of heavy coats. Daniel rushed down the stairs.

"Sooo… sorry, Grandma." Daniel took the suitcase from her.

"My daughter didn't dragged my sorry butt here to New York just so that I could meet a pompous selfish bastard who can't even help the elderly and that goes for you too, Hunt!" she pointed at Hunt, then dragged her pointing finger toward an incoming Jace, "And you too…!"

She paused as everyone watched Jace bolting through the stairs. "Well," a smile formed on her chapped lips, "If it isn't my favorite grandson, Jace."

"Hi Jace!" Daniel greeted him but he went past him as if he didn't exist. "Oh…uhh… tell your friends I said Hi." He muttered.

"Well, that was rude." Grandma furrowed her singed eyebrows.

"Mai must have told him the news." Daniel said solemnly, "And he's not happy about that."

Hunt curiously looked back at Daniel, "News? What news?"

"It's about Jace's mother and I."

xXx

Jace was now outside the Plaza. Hunt's ecstatic "Shut up!" scream echoed from the lobby, but Jace ignored it as all his attention was on finding Kirby. His head whipped across the streets but no sign of him.

He pulled out his 3DS, flicked his stylus, and dragged the Warp Star from its 3D screen to midair with the stylus. Kirby landed on the Warp Star before him. The puffball shook its head and looked around before facing Jace. "Poyo!" he smiled again.

"All right Kirby. What do you want? Your presence here better be good." Jace said; trying to ignore the amount of attention Kirby's presence was pulling on the streets.

Kirby shuffled sideways, leaving room for Jace to hop on the Warp Star. The hesitant Jace looked back at the puffball, "Oh. You want me to…" he turned to the Warp Star. "Ohh-okay…" he gently laid hands on the Warp Star, "I don't know how I'm gonna ride this but…"

The Warp Star flashed brightly and violently shook, making its shimmering sound draw all attention. The Star took off into the sky. "WHAAAAAA!" Jace screamed in panic, trying to hold on to the star with his legs suspended in the air. "HIYAAAAAA!" Kirby squealed in cheers.

xXx

A crowd of Nintendo characters invaded the 3D Lounge, and all were talking, complaining and trying to interrupt each other, causing a slew of cries.

"Can I have your attention, please!" Dimentio shouted, but his voice quickly drowned into the commotion. He tried again, this time shouting out loud, but his shouting could only increase the crowd volume. Finally Falco stepped in and blew a whistle between two fingers. A strident shriek overwhelmed the crowd's ears. They screamed in pain until there was dead silence.

"HEY!" Falco yelped, "When the man wants your attention, he wants YOUR attention, got it?"

Some chewing and lip smacking drew the muted crowd's attention to a long dining table in the middle of the room. Pit was spotted, devouring a large turkey lying before him, "Mhm-Mhm-Mhm! I love me this time of year!" he ran his tongue across his oil-soggy lips, a turkey leg on one hand and mashed potatoes scooped to the other hand, "They don't call it thanksgiving for nothing!"

Falco stepped before Pit and ripped the turkey leg off Pit. "HEEEY!" Pit's face flashed red.

"Thanksgiving is not till tomorrow, genius." Falco dropped the turkey leg on the ground, "Right now we have a different matter!"

"75 bucks of good turkey…" Dimentio sadly sulked to a chair, "…down the drain."

A column of light flashed before the crowd and pixels started forming two figures: Mario and Peach. The duo sensed some uneasiness in the crowd.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mario asked.

And once again the crowd resumed their complaints.

"What's going on, _mi fratello_…" added Luigi, "is Kirby." He briefly faced the crowd," He apparently has eaten 75% of the entire city's Thanksgiving meals and he's now going rogue!"

The crowd agreed with Luigi's statement.

"He even ate my Pokémon's foods!" Pokémon Trainer Red exclaimed. Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard and Pikachu all exclaimed in agreement. "I don't even know if that's edible."

The Pokémon looked back at their trainer, panic painted their faces. Red quickly exclaimed, "I meant if it's safe to eat for _Kirby_. Who's _not_ a Pokémon…" the Pokemon breathed in relief, "…unfortunately for me because I wanted to catch him." Red muttered.

"And now the smallest that we can afford," Luigi went on, "Pit devoured it."

"HEEY!" Pit hissed, "I thought I'd save them for a rainy day."

Luigi glared at the angel, "By what, incubating them in your stomach?"

"Y-yeaaah…!" Pit reluctantly exclaimed. And once again the crowd resumed their protests.

"Whatever Kirby is doing to people's foods should not be an issue, my people!" the voice of Meta Knight lowered the crowd's distress and they turned to his direction. Meta Knight stood before the podium that was before the mega widescreen HDTV. His bright yellow eyes fixed on them like ghosts.

"What's the matter?" Fox asked Meta Knight.

Meta Knight turned around and pointed at the screen, "Take a look."

"_…Police_ r _eports have it that yesterday's breach was the third in the series of unattempt heists on possibly one of New York's priceless antiques. Apparently, the thief tried to lift up the capsule shielding the antic so many times already that he never managed to steal it thanks to the Galleria's alarm system."_

"Wait a minute, we know this Star!" Luigi exclaimed at the sight of the Star on the TV. Everyone else exhaled in awe.

_"The Star is described to be a Star with a dark chocolate cover and a black creamy shade, adorned with glowing patterns that makes it radiate under the dusky sky_. _Archeologists found that Star just recently under the ground of New York and appears to be of high importance to the attempting robber for six nights straight. Whatever the case, the galleria is now under tough security surveillance. So the robber will be caught sooner or later once he makes another attempt. The Star is currently called The Black—."_

"…Warp Star of the North Interstellar." Meta Knight said.

"The Black Warp Star of the North Interstellar?" Mario repeated.

"No, the _Warp Star_ of the North Interstellar." Meta Knight replied, "The Black Star part was implied by humans here." He turned back to the screen, "Legend has it that this Star is the key for the Dimensions to be restore and take us back to our beloved homes."

The crowd exchanged awed comments at that revelation.

"You're kidding!" Luigi exclaimed, "And I was just enjoying this place!"

"So you prefer hiding from the crowd in this 3D Lounge forever?" Falco asked.

Luigi briefly paused before facing Meta Knight again, "So where can we find that star exactly?"

"It was never meant to be found." Meta Knight said, "Even with the appearances of the two Dimensional objects: the Screen and the Sphere… until now. We need to find more information about this Star and why it ended up in humans' hands in the first place. We'll also find out who's been trying to steal it. Their intention on using it could be dire."

He faced the Smash Brothers again, "I propose you guys do more research on this item. I'll get to the bottom of this."

The knight wrapped himself in his cape and vanished into a thread.

"Anybody wants some tea and butter cookies?" Peach offered her plate to everyone in the lounge, "It's getting cold you know?"

xXx

A pillar of light flashed in the middle of a fancy room (**description of Noir's penthouse).** Jace and Kirby were no longer on the Warp Star but back on their feet. Jace glanced at his surrounding, awestruck by the expensive furniture and the architecture of the room he was in. He looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the giant skyscrapers of Northern Manhattan. He was still in New York City.

"Oh thank God I'm still in New York." He let out a sigh of relief before facing Kirby, "And here I thought you were gonna take me to Dreamland instead."

Kirby simply gave him a puzzled look. Then the elevator doors swung apart and they turned around.

"There he is." Noir spoke, "The man of the hour."

Jace startled by his presence. "Uhh…" He quickly stepped before Kirby, hiding him from sight, "You're not supposed to be seeing that…!"

"What are you talking about?" Noir interjected, "Everyone got to see the Smash Brothers in real life 3D CG animated forms, but I can't?"

Jace reluctantly moved away from Kirby. Kirby smiled widely again. "Whaoo!"

"F'get about it. I just need your help." He sat at a black leather chesterfield. Jace stood there, blinking.

"…W-wait. You want…" he paused, "…you want my help?"

"Your uncle has gone AWOL, and so is his daughter. And Nintendo is getting out of control." Noir said, "Ever since the theft on the 3DS, all kind of things have been happening. First Bowser taking over the Rockefeller Center, and then recently the Mega Donkey Kong Battle over the Empire State Building…"

"You know about all of this?" Jace asked.

Noir briefly stared at him. "Kid, everybody _knows_ about this. Don't be so immature."

Jace squinted, "Okay… did you call me just to insult me?"

"It's no fun without a little injury." Noir reached out to grab a tea-filled cup laid on a coffee table and offered to Jace, "Chamomile?"

Jace shook his head, "No thanks."

Noir shrugged and took a sip. Jace proceeded, "…but, how is it that you know Kirby?"

Noir placed the teacup back to the table, "Kirby came to me."

"He…" he stammered, "He did?"

"Don't be surprised." Noir said, "Mario came to you. Then Jenn's Nintendog came to her. We all share the same fate. Anyway enough chit-chat. Time's a-flyin'. You heard of the attempted robbery on the Black Star at the Galleria, right? I want you to steal it for me."

Jace jerked up from the sofa, "Whoa- Whoa- Whoa- Whoa- Whoa- Whoa! Back up. Pause the game. I'm not stealing anything! Not even a Black Star."

"And why not?"

"Hellooo… it's a Black Star…?"

Noir sighed exasperatedly.

"Besides, I've already stolen…!" he cut himself short, "…a lot of things. But my stealing spree is done man! I'm not going down that road."

"What road?" Noir said, "The road of getting arrested?" he now stood up and with a mustered smile on his face went on, "Relax. My mother and father own 75% of Wall Street. I can vouch for your safety. Just think of me as a member of a Mafia league. That's one. Two: that Black Star has been a target for six nights straight already, and we don't know why but it has sentimental value. Three: one of such value is that it's the only key for the Smash Brothers to get back to the Nintendo World and they are out to do something evil out of it. So technically, that Black Star is a good thing."

That last line caught Jace's attention. "Really?" a smile formed on his face.

"We can put this whole deal past us." Noir pulled out of his left pocket a white card with the Empire State Building engraved on its face in gold, "Here's the key to the Galleria. Use it to unlock the galleria, block all the security alarms associated with it, and take the Star. Simple as that."

"Well…" Jace reached up to grab the key, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to steal something just to help out the Smash…" but then he stepped back, "Wait! N-No!" he shook his head, rescinding, "What am I doing? I can't do this, okay?" he snapped at Noir, "I won't!"

Kirby intensively watched the two teens. Noir growled under his breath.

"Very well…" Noir stuffed the key card back to his pocket, "Take two." He said reaching for a TV remote on the coffee table, "I hope I get this right." He faced the wide-screen HDTV hooked to the wall and pressed the Power button. Jace and Kirby briefly watched. Jace's face turned grim.

"No…" he breathed low, gaping by what he saw. It was the recorded footage of him stealing the Nintendo 3DS back at Nintendo Corp!

"OH." Noir said calmly, observing the shock and panic on Jace's face, "I see by the look on your face that you're familiar with this 15-second of fame of yours on this footage huh?"

Jace's face burned in fear and anger. His tongue quickly parched. Kirby watched, still clueless as ever by what was happening. "Whao…"

"Kirby seems to agree." Noir paused the footage. "Now. About our offer, _kid."_ He flipped back the key card out of his pocket and tugged it to Jace, his face turned more severe, "Either you take my offer, or this tiny picture right there will become a motion picture. Simple as that."

Jace glared back at the key and then back at Noir. After more pause, Jace snatched the key card from Noir. A smirk passed by Noir's lips.

"What's the passcode?" Jace asked.

xXx

What you do is simple. Discreetly enter the Galleria around closing time. You'll be carrying a briefcase with you. Don't forget to show your card to the security guard. Once he lets you in, head into the Galleria and acts social. Mind your own business until the coast is clear.

Once the coast clears up, go to one of the most famous paintings to your left side. That of Vincenzo Camuccini, _La Morte de Césare_. Right below the golden edge of its frame you'll feel a button. It'll prevent all security cameras and alarms from activating once the Galleria is closed. Don't forget to have Kirby serve the guards one of my most famous chamomile teas. It calms the nerve. And I do mean… _really_ calms the nerve.

The Passcode is 6647. If you don't remember it, just think of my name.

Those were all the instructions Noir gave Jace. And Jace has managed to follow most of them. Jace sported a black trenchcoat under his casual wear, sported jet-black sunglasses wore a Bluetooth earpiece on his right ear and a silver watch on his left wrist. A fedora hat was lowered to hide most of his identity.

The clouds burned with fiery light, indicating the sun was slipping behind the cityscape, marking sundown. Galleria was closing and the visitors were leaving. It was time for Jace to make his move. He nervously played with his his watch and let out a deep breath, twisting and turning it. Stealing a 3DS was one thing. But to steal a public artifact from a government-owned museum was criminal beyond belief. But he had to do it to clear himself off this blackmail Noir had placed on his head.

"What are you waiting for?" Noir's voice caused static on Jace's earpiece, "The mice to leave the party?"

Jace clicked on the earpiece, "Don't… pressure me." Jace growled under his breath.

"Just do as I say." Noir replied, "The button. Vincenzo Camuccini, _La Morte de Césare._ On your left." Then Noir muttered, "Camuccini seriously should've considered taking a French class. There's no _e_ at the end of _Mort_."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Who cares?" he walked toward the painting. He clicked on his earpiece again, "I swear, Noir. If you're setting me up—!"

"Relax. I'm a man of my words. And I expect the same from you, no?"

Jace observed Kirby with the chamomile tea. "Kirby's on the move." He replied.

The distracted officers leaned forward Kirby, greeting him with smiles, goo-goo eyes and baby talk. How adorable he was, they thought. But if they knew how deadly his swallows were.

Kirby stared briefly at the chamomile tea, licked his lips and dumped the entire teacup into his mouth and swallow. The officers jumped back, startled by Kirby's stunt.

Immediately Kirby's jaws stretched out wide. A strong suction picked up and the officers couldn't stay still. They got pulled closer to Kirby's mouth. The officers screamed. Jace hid behind the artifact and watched the event unfold. In less than thirty seconds, Kirby gulped, licked, smacked his lips and burped out an officer's hat.

Jace approached the puffball, "Kirby. What are you doing?"

_Buuuuuurp!_ The teacup escaped his mouth and clattered on the ground. Kirby picked it up and handed it to Jace with a smile, "Whaaao!"

Jace snatched the teacup from Kirby, "No, I don't want any tea…" he glared at the soggy teacup, dangling between his fingers, "…even if it's being used."

He tossed it to the side, this time shattering it on the marble floor.

"You know you owe me a teacup right?" Noir said to Jace in his earpiece, "That was China."

"And I don't give a rat's ass." Jace hissed, "The coast is clear, the night is coming, we need to move." He snapped his finger and pointed toward the artifact: the Star under the glass capsule remained untouched, almost at peace since its many attempts on its abduction. Jace and Kirby approached the artifact.

"Did you disable the security alarms and cameras?" Noir asked again.

"I did everything you asked on the list." Jace replied, "What more do you want?"

"For you to explain why I can see you from one of their camera monitors?"

Jace stopped walking. Kirby did also. He slowly looked up to his right side and there it was: a camera! Its blinking red light flashing, right on target!

Jace quickly looked to his left. Another flashing camera. He turned around, glancing all across the room. All the cameras were active!

"Oh shoot!"

"Told you to disable the cameras."

"You distracted me!" Jace hissed back at the earpiece. He frantically turned to Kirby, "Kirby, go to that painting right there!" he pointed at the _La Morte de Césare_ painting. Click on its button on its frame, now."

"Hai!" Kirby turned to the painting and ran toward it. "Hurry!" Jace begged.

Suddenly a dozen Waddle Dees dropped before Kirby. Kirby braked on his heels. More Waddle Dees dropped around the two heroes, completely surrounding them.

"Damn it!" Jace cursed.

"Looks like we got company." Noir muttered.

"Well, well, well…" Dedede's voice was heard. Jace looked up and watched him drop from the ceiling with his mallet. His feet thundered on the floor, causing a minor quake. Jace and Kirby almost lost their balance.

"_Looks_ like we got company." The Dreamland King grinned.

"Did he just steal my statement?" Noir asked.

"Dedede. What are you doing here?" Jace asked Dedede, ignoring Noir.

"What do you think?" Dedede pointed the mallet at the Star, "I'm here for my Star and nothing more."

"So you're the one who's been trying to steal it?" Jace asked, "Not gonna happen today, bub!"

Jace ran for the Star. Dedede gave chase. "Try and stop me!" He swung his mallet, and Jace flew to a wall. Kirby angrily faced Dedede, but quickly got overwhelmed by the Waddle Dees. Then half of the Waddle Dees jumped before the army, sporting ninja costumes and pulled out Shuriken. Kirby chided, shaking on his feet.

"HAAAAAAA!"

Dedede looked back and BOOM, Jace tackled and pinned him to the ground, his knees slowly crushed on the king's abdomen. The king wailed in agony. Jace swung a fist, struck the king across his jaws. He then swung another. Then another. Then another, using the king's blue face like a punching bag. Then a Shuriken zipped by and impaled itself to Jace's left shoulder just as he was about to swing again.

"HAAA!" Jace hissed and clenched on his shoulder, oozing in blood, staining on his jacket. Then the swarm of Waddle Dee Ninja shot by him at ridiculous speed, pinning him to his side like a pack of hungry lions over a massive defenseless bison.

Quickly the Waddle Dees joined them. They ruffled him up, thinly slicing every corner of his body, pounding on his joints and bones with their heavy feet. He cried out, pulling himself to his side; but the ninjas were not letting go, they ripped through his coat, kicked his fedora, disheveled his hair, slit his neck, back and legs.

Dedede was already on his feet, swinging his mallet in cheers, "Pound 'im, boys!" he exclaimed, "Pound 'im hard! OFF with his head! Show him not to mess with Dedede!" he then stopped, "Wait… what am I doing?"

He turned his attention back to the Star and went for it. Jace managed to open his eyes to spot Dedede. He tried to use force, pulling himself off the Waddle Dees and the Ninjas, but the numbers got heavier as they crushed on his bones and send painful tingles across his nerves and spines. He yelled out with painful effort, "Kirby…! Stop Dedede! Now!"

Kirby looked at Dedede, then back at Jace. He felt confused, lost, not knowing what to do.

"Forget about me Kirby! Just stop him!" Jace shouted again.

Kirby shuddered, still glancing in panic and utter hopelessness. Just as he turned to see the Waddle Dees giving more trashing on the defenseless exhausted Jace, his face quickly darkened. He ran toward them, completely ignoring Dedede who had just shattered the capsule and activated the security alarm.

"WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO! WHAO!"

Kirby's jaws stretched out open and a powerful suction started drawing the Waddle Dees in dozen numbers to his orifice. One Waddle Dee Ninja watched his comrades getting swallowed, stepped forward and swung a Shuriken into the puffball's mouth.

"NOOOO!" Dedede screamed just when he saw that.

Kirby gulped the blade, flipped into the air and morphed into Cutter Kirby. He then zipped across a dozen Waddle Dees, slicing his side. He then landed on the floor and tossed his blades back at the Waddle Dees at rippling speed. Half of them fell.

Then a couple Ninjas tossed their blades also but Kirby swung his blade-equipped arm across, cutting and dicing down the flying shuriken. Some loose shurikens flew past Kirby and began shattering glasses, artifacts, and paintings. Kirby then quickly rushed at the enemies. More ninjas fell to his speed.

The distracted Waddle Dees had stopped pounding on Jace, giving him the advantage. He pulled them off him, sending them flying across the galleria, through more glass capsules and paintings. He threw a punch at one Waddle Dee to his left, then kicked at one other Waddle Dee to his right, then spun a kick across a couple more Waddle Dees. The heroes watched the enemies stepping back, their confidences ebbing away.

"What the heck are you doing wasting your precious time for?!" Dedede hissed at his frozen army, "Attack them! ATTACK!"

Kirby tossed a blade at Dedede, zipping past his Star-equipped hand with a minor cut. Dedede let go off the Star with a yelp. The Star flew across the room and landed right into Jace's hands. At that second the doors swung open and the lights went on. All heads turned to six security guards standing at the door.

"He's got the Star!" one of the guards pointed at Jace.

"What the hell?!" the other guard exclaimed.

A Waddle Doo came before the security guards and tossed a smoke ball. PSHHHHH! A thick cloud of colored smokes overwhelmed the galleria, blocking the guards' vision. The guards coughed and hacked, their eyes shielded from the ball's overwhelming fog.

Dedede came before Jace and Kirby and swung his mallet. Jace and Kirby flew right through the building's window, shattering its glass. They screamed as they plummeted 50 feet off the building… …

Dedede also jumped out the window and the Waddle Dees followed. "So long, boys!" Dedede laughed out loud.

The smoke cleared away and the guards could see again. But what they saw was disastrous. The paintings were torn in half, some were completely ripped off their frames; the frames were even dislocated; the other artifacts were broken and displaced. Some were scratched. Only a few luckily didn't have a cut. The marble floor was littered in glasses and fabrics. It was a mess.

"No…" one of the security guards exclaimed, "These hooligans destroyed everything."

"They didn't destroyed everything." Hissed another one, "They vandalized public property! Owned by the government!"

"At least they didn't lose sight of their mission." Another security guard pointed to his colleagues the pedestal where the Star was supposed to be. He turned to their attention, "They've stolen the Star."

The officers exchanged worried look.

"We need to contact the FBI." The guard proposed, "This is not a regular police matter. This artifact must be found before it is too late."

"Wait, whoa, backup!" the second guard exclaimed, "What do you mean this isn't police matter?"

"Y-you don't know the story behind the Star?" the third guard questioned the second.

"Obviously, no one does."

Just as they were talking, Meta Knight was spying on them perched on a ledge of the building from outside the broken window. He listened in cautiously, the quiet wind blowing on his cape. After a few seconds of what he heard, he stared into the nightsky, eyes narrowed.

xXx

Meta Knight reappeared before the Nintendo crowd, talking amongst themselves. Their attention quickly turned away from their cheerful converse to the dark knight.

Dimentio, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Samus, Fox, Falco, and Pit approached him.

"What's going on?" Dimentio asked frantically, "Did you find the thief?"

"Bad news and worse news." Meta Knight replied.

The Smash Brothers briefly exchanged glances before facing the knight, "Wait, no good news?" Pit said.

"The thief." Meta Knight said, "…is none other than the White Knight."

"JACEN STOLE A STAR?!" Dimentio exploded.

A ripple of exclamation filled the lounge.

"At a national museum?!"

"Mamamia…" Luigi shuddered.

"Wait, you're-a sure?" Mario asked again.

"The worse news is that this Star… the Warp Star of the North Interstellar." Meta Knight went on, "is not even a star used to take us back home. It's a powerful artifact handcrafted to destroy the world."

"NOOOOOOO!" Panic flooded across the 3D Lounge.

"Wait… how is a Star gonna destroy a world?!" Fox exclaimed.

"Just think of it as an atomic bomb…" Meta Knight added, "…the star falls from the sky, strikes the earth and everything that you see here is history. And because Jace stole it, the whole country has placed a $500,000 reward for his capture on his back, dead… or alive."

That had the Smash Brothers panic some more.

"This is bad. This is so bad!" Dr. Dimentio exclaimed, pacing back and forth with anxiety and shaking on his feet, "The police—especially the people in New York—do NOT tolerate people that steals artifacts that has been engineered to destroyed the world! If they find Jace, he's never gonna live for me to see my GRANDCHILDREN!"

Mario raised an eyebrow, "Grand…children?"

_"_Oh, you KNOW what I mean!_"_ Dimentio hissed.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

The morning of Thanksgiving was already busy like an afternoon rush.

Inside the Plaza's Ballroom, large and wide tables and chairs filled the spacious room, and all matched the color ensemble of the ballroom: silk ivory white highlighted in goldenrod design patterns of all different shapes.

The catered foods laid perfectly on these tables, a mouth-watering feast that were magnificently adorned as if they were just for show but provocatively tempting to eat: roasted turkey surrounded by an assorted variety of salads, pickles, peppers, and lip-smacking salty croutons stood in the middle of these foods: a white ham gleaming in glazed honey, a large lobster coated in lemon juice, a perfect white mashed potatoes with chocolate-colored gravy, a plate of diced-shaped yams and a cocktail of veggies on its side, hot spicy fried rice, mini cherry cheesecakes cut in cubes, and toffee-flavored chocolate marbles.

And each table had at least two medium-high stools for drinks: Martinelli's sparking ciders and white champagne were everyone's favorite. Coffee and hot cocoa were also provided, along with any coffeehouses holiday favorites: the hot cinnamon cider.

Chandeliers graced the ceiling, flooding the entire scene with its glorious lights and a classical Mozart piece filled the ballroom's atmosphere; giving its guests a feel of an early holiday party and a treat that made them forget about the usual chaotic life of New York City. Such a pleasant gathering for everyone guests and non-guests at the Plaza. And Mai Lee was the one to set everything up, with most hired help of course.

Speaking of Mai, she was being mobbed by guests and camera crews everywhere she went. At least she took time to talk to some of her modeling fans while getting her candid pictures taken. Plus as a model she didn't mind the attention. She used to be quite uncomfortable with the invasion of space, but she eventually got used to it… as long as it doesn't involve her privacy!

She walked away from a few guests to greet some more guests.

"Ah! Welcome. Welcome. Welcome to our Family Thanksgiving at the Plaza everybody. I hope you enjoy your stay here at the Plaza." She pointed over the dinner tables, "Oh and please help yourselves to some tasty Kardashian's Kishes and Lady Gaga's disturbing dessert!"

The guests glanced at the Gaga Disturbing Dessert at one of the tables. It _was_ quite disturbing. What was supposed to look like a cake with some jelly filling to everyone's best guess was what looked like a variety of stuffed meat stuffed into each other's derriere, and dripping in pig-blood-colored substance from the top like an erupted volcano. They reluctantly walked toward the dish.

"I wouldn't worry about its looks too much." Mai threw a hand in dismissal, "Enjoy!" she said before walking away to greet other guests. At that moment, Maple and Pat entered the ballroom and also took notice of the disturbing dessert. Maple was with her parents and her aunt Claris.

"What's that supposed to be?" Maple nervously asked her parents.

"Honey, I have no idea." Maple's mom replied, "It's best that you don't know."

"It's best that you don't eat it." Maple's dad added.

"What are you two talking about?" Aunt Claris mumbled before turning to the two girls, "You girls should enjoy it. You should enjoy yourselves. It's a big family Thanksgiving dinner."

The family waltzed to the dinner table just as Jenn left the table after taking a quick bite out of one of the chocolate marbles. She found Mai and approached her.

"Aunt Mai." she said, "I thought you were gonna have your family Thanksgiving dinner at the Plaza's Imperial Suite. Not the ballroom."

"Yeah." Mai said, "Change of plan. We'll have two Thanksgivings."

Jenn gaped, "Wh…TWO?! In one day?"

"The one at the Imperial Suite is gonna be family-only." Mai added, "And like our family tradition, it's gonna be tonight. The one we're having here is more of a formal party set up by me, a celebrity."

Jenn was silent. But Mai went on, "…AAAAND… I wanted to make a big announcement to the public concerning Daniel and me. Long story short: we're engaged. The wedding's this Christmas."

Jenn's eyes went wide.

"…and a big girl like you needs to EAT!" Mai slapped on Jenn's stomach, "Seriously, Jenn. Gain some pound instead of shedding them like a skin."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-wait… Back up. Hold up! Pause the game!" Jenn exclaimed, "You're getting married?!"

Mai Lee opened her mouth to speak but Hunt responded for her, "Yeah!" he had a big smile on his face, "Isn't that exciting?" he turned to the model, "Congratulations Ma'am! I'm so happy for you."

Mai smiled back, "Aww…"

"Yeah! Me too! I mean… this is great news!" Jenn exclaimed with a smile on her face, "but wait…" her smile vanished, "…does Dad knows about this? Jace?"

Mai shrugged, "Why do you care about your dad?"

"Err… you two dated? Before you married his brother?"

"Well…" she hesitated briefly, "…yeah, true. We dated. Our relationship didn't work out, but we became fast friends. He'll accept it!" She then sighed, "…but as for Jace, I…" she hesitated before she shrugged, "…I don't know how he's gonna accept it."

"Gee, I dunno… I mean…" Jenn mumbled uncomfortably, "I still don't know if he _really_ got over his dad's death. He really can't stand Daniel's guts."

Hunt rolled his eyes and scoffed in disgust, "He ain't the only one." He said, " _I_ can't stand Daniel's guts because he ain't giving me a Ferrari!"

At that moment, Daniel approached Mai and wrapped his arm around her, "Hey sweet dumpling." He gave her a smooch on her forehead. Jenn blissfully watched the lovebirds, "Aw…" Hunt frowned, "Ugh… yeah sure. Shower her with hugs, kisses, and money why don't you." he stepped out. Daniel and Mai watched him disappearing into the crowd.

"He's weird." Daniel said.

"Ohh…" Mai cooed. She then paused uncomfortably, "…but wait. Have you seen Jace?" she asked, "I didn't see him last night."

Jace stepped behind his crew, "Did you guys miss me?" he said with a genuine smile across his face. The family turned to his attention.

"Jace, where were you last night?" Mai asked her son, "We've been worried sick."

Jace shrugged, "Nuttin'. Just strolling across Central Park. Failed to notice time flying by."

Jenn looked on suspiciously. Grandma Shampoo who joined the group also appeared suspicious, Mhhhn-Hmm!" she crossed her arm and moved her head, "And we gon' believe that? You zipped past Daniel last night without even a greeting."

Mai turned back to Jace, appalled, "Jace!"

"Mai, it's fine. All right?" Daniel said to her, "_I'm_ fine. I don't mind a little disrespect."

"Yeah, mom. I mean—!" Jace stammered, "Not the disrespecting part. Just…" he paused, "…all right fine. I'll tell you the truth. I went out last night…"

The family waited upon a brief pause. Jace went on, "…to invite _Ojisan_ for our annual family visit down 34th Street for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade."

Mai gaped, "Ohh Jace… the Macy's Parade. Our family…" she turned to Daniel, "…tradition." She turned back to Jace, "Honey, I am so sorry. I completely forgot."

Disappointment filled Jace's face by that comment.

"Family tradition?" Daniel repeated.

"Yes. Every year the entire family goes down 34th Street to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade unfolding." Mai explained before facing Jace, "I was so busy and so psyched about making this formal dinner a big success that it totally slipped my mind, honey. We should put this on hold for next year."

Jace shook his head and faintly smiled, "Don't worry about it. It's cool."

"I can make it up to you with this cool trick." She said, "Watch." She snapped her fingers and a dozen butlers and servants lined up behind her. "Gentlemen. Please see to it that my guests get a fantastic Thanksgiving they'd never forget."

The butlers and servants moved about the ballroom. Mai, Daniel, and Grandma Shampoo took their leaves also to greet and talk to more guests. It was now just Jenn and Jace. Jenn stepped before Jace and crossed her arms, eyes narrowed. "You didn't leave the Plaza to talk to Dad, did you?"

Jace sputtered, "Whaaaaa?" he laughed, "Of course not!"

Jenn could now see the white in the top and bottom of Jace's eyes, "Mhhhn-Hmm!"

"No, wait! What…? What did you just asked me? I mean—!"

"You're lying."

Jace said nothing.

Jenn closed in, pointing the finger at him, "Where have you been, hmm? Spill the beans, now."

"Waaaoh!"

Jace and Jenn whisked their heads to the sound of the voice. It was Kirby and he was standing right in the middle of the Thanksgiving feast table. His cartoonish eyes lit up. The crowd froze up at the sight of the puffball.

"No. No. No. No. No! No! No! No! No! No!" Hunt ran past the crowd and stood before Kirby shaking his head and his hands at him, but too late. Kirby unhinged his jaws, stretched out his mouth and suction took over the table. The guests managed to keep their balance, despite their clothing ruffling through the cold windy suction, exposing undergarment and unpleasant wigs and hair extensions. But all the foods, including the napkins, utensils, china plates and cups all flew straight into Kirby's mouth.

"Noooooo!" the crowd groaned. The table was now empty. Kirby smacked his lips and burped out a glass. He pulled out a satisfying smile in front of the shocked, disappointing crowd. Kirby spotted the next table and ran for it.

"AFTER HIM!" screamed Maple and the crowd dispersed into singles and groups in pursuit of Kirby. Kirby leapt as they jumped to catch him. They landed on the ground and Kirby stomped on their heads, one-by-one as if they were platforms. He landed on the table and watch Hunt flying at him. Kirby flipped to his side and Hunt landed on the table, crashing it in two and causing major spill. Kirby bounced on Hunt's head, crossed his back through his buttocks like a bridge and soared. More chaos ensued as everyone tried to catch the tiny puffball.

"What are you waiting for gentlemen? After it! Now!" Mai hissed at her butlers and servants. They dropped everything on the ground and went after the puffball. "Don't let them ruin my moment!" The pursuit soon felt like a ferret chase. Elsewhere, Mario and Luigi were spotted chewing on some turkey parts; then Pit was also spotted taking on appetizers, then Diddy Kong and ROB were seen making snowballs out of mashed potatoes. ROB formed the mashed potatoes as if they were bricks and whenever he threw them at his victims it'll knock them out like real bricks. The robot tittered at every hit while the chimp danced and clapped his hands.

"Okay, Mom seems to care too much about herself right now." Jace glanced around, "And what are the Smash Brothers doing here?"

"Uhn-Uhn." Jenn shook her head, "Don't change subject now. Just tell me where were you last night, now!"

She quickly pulled Jace's ear and dragged him away from the crowd past a podium, "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. OWww." They were now behind a secluded area similar to a backstage space.

Jace sighed, admitting defeat, "All right, I wasn't at _Ojisan_ last night to invite him to our Thanksgiving event because I was being blackmailed."

"Blackmailed?" Jenn frowned after a brief pause, "You're kidding, right?"

Jace pulled out of his brown corduroy jacket the Black Star. Jenn's frown vanished at the frozen sight of the gleaming star. "What the—?!"

"Not kiddin' now am I?"

"That's the Warp Star of the North Interstellar!" Jenn hissed, trying her best not to raise her voice, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE WARP STAR OF THE NORTH INTERSTELLAR?!"

"Is that what this thing's called?"

"That thing is not supposed to fall into the wrong hands!"

"Girl." Jace chuckled, "Relax. My hands aren't wrong. They haven't done a single dirty job for a looooong time."

Jenn smacked Jace in the head. "Ow!" Jace exclaimed.

"I'm not talking about your hands damnit! I'm talking about _any_ hands!" she went on, "I'm talking about the Star!" she snatched the star from Jace, "This star is a powerful artifact used to destroy the world and all that lives around it, including the entire Solar System."

"Wait… what?"

"You're gonna kill us!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Back up a sec. I was told that this thing is supposed to bring the Smash Brothers back home. Not end everybody's lives."

"Who told you that?"

"Noir! Noir Deroi from Nintendo Corp. He's full of pus! He told me that right before he showed me footage of me stealing the 3DS."

"Why am I not surprised?" it was Meta Knight's voice. The teens looked up, watching him perched above the ceiling. He descended from the ceiling and landed before them. Jenn and Jace jumped back.

"A man who blackmails the White Knight is no man of integrity. Even if he helps you get what he wants in the process."

"Meta Knight." Jace spoke calmly to him, "Can I ask you a burning question. Why is it that of all days of this year, it's now that you have to show up _at my mother's Thanksgiving feast_ ?!" he hissed.

"Forgive me if the White Knight was careless enough to free us from our world into his world in great time of need," Meta Knight muttered, "Especially right in the middle of his most important day of the year: Eat Turkey Day."

"It's Thanksgiving." Jace corrected him, "And it's not my fault."

"Actually it is." Jenn reminded him, "You stole a 3DS, failed to notice that it was magical. You unleash almost the entire Nintendo World in one city; then you end up stealing a precious artifact that could destroy the world…!"

"Okay, fine! I destroyed the world, big deal! But…!" Jace hesitated, stammering, "W-Wait… what am I saying again?! I… GYAAAAAH! You know how I feel when I'm under pressure!"

Jace, Jenn and Meta Knight quickly got out of their hiding place. Chaos with the uninvited Smash Brothers still happened in the ballroom. The gang rushed to the ballroom podium. Jace stepped before the mic stand, "Yo, guys! Everyone! Can I have your attention, please?"

But half of the crowd didn't respond. They were still busy trying to either get rid of Kirby or get acquainted with the rest of the gang. Mai and Daniel however had their attention on him.

"Jace, what's going on here?" Mai exclaimed, "What is this cartoon madness that I see? Did you do this?"

"Who's he?" Daniel pointed at Meta-Knight. Meta-Knight jumped from the podium and landed right before Daniel. He pulled out his sword and threateningly pointed at him, "Never… speak of the great Meta-Knight as a he."

"S-Sorry." Daniel rescinded.

"Meta Knight, this is my Mom and her boyfriend Daniel. Guys this is Meta Knight. Nice to meet you all. Love to tell you more about this Mom, but I gotta—!" Jace yanked both Jenn and Meta Knight off the podium and were about to fly out of the ballroom.

"Ohh, what's the rush Jacen?"

Jace, Jenn, and Meta Knight stopped dead on their tracks. All heads across the ballroom turned to the person who spoke.

"Somewhere you wanna go? Somewhere you have to be?"

It was Noir. He had a tiny mic on attached to his suit but wirelessly connected to all speakers in the ballroom so that the crowd could hear him. Jace tensed up. "You…" he sneered.

"You know they are a lot of people who are still wondering, Jacen Riders, why all of the sudden the Plaza Ballroom which is supposed to be booked for a big family Thanksgiving is now populated by uninvited Nintendo characters?" Noir asked. The guests in the ballroom all murmured, asking each other that same question. Jace couldn't help but spot a kid trying to grab a piece of pumpkin pie perfectly lying in front of Diddy Kong, but missed that chance as Diddy picked it up and slammed it to his face. The kid bawled in tears. He turned back to Noir.

Noic noticed Jenn. "Hiiii…" she giggled, grinning flirtatiously with her shoulders raised up and waving at him. "Oh it's you." Noir uninterestingly said to her before turning back to Jace.

"Okay, you know what Noir, fine. I'll tell the whole world my big secret." Jace blurted out, "But you know what that means too, right? Nintendo has to blow up their big secret too 'cause you all in on it!"

"Wait a minute, Nintendo?!" Daniel interrupted Jace, "Now I know where I've seen these characters! From Nintendo!"

"Yeaaaahhh…" Mai exclaimed, "We get it now!" her eyes glimmered with knowledge and relief, "Jace you must have had your uncle come up with some fancy 3D technology to make all of those Nintendo characters come alive to our Thanksgiving Dinner! Now there are here, as if they are actually in real life!"

Everyone in the ballroom exhaled in full understanding. Now the entertained ballroom quickly gathered around the Nintendo characters like swarm of bees, crowding and blocking their breathing spaces. Noir looked lost. Jace blinked, "Errr… I… guess?"

"That's like a big Disneyland attraction!" Grandma Shampoo chuckled, "Now we know Jace's secret without even knowing there _was_ a secret!"

Daniel laughed, "Ah-ha! This surely beats _our_ secret."

Jace turned to Daniel when he heard that, "Secret?"

"Uhhh!" The frantic Mai-Lee shoved a bread pudding into Daniel's throat to shut him up, "What he's trying to say is that we…" she hesitated, "…we have something to share to you, but it's not really a big deal, we'll talk about it later." She turned to the ballroom crowd, "Everyone dig in! Talk amongst yourselves!"

The ballroom crowd went back to their businesses. Jace and Jenn had turned their attention back to Noir. That gave Mai-Lee the chance to secretly pull Daniel from the table and away from the duo, "Daniel. What were you thinking?" she whispered, "We cannot tell Jace about our engagement yet."

Daniel sighed, "I know. But I was so frantic about how he'll make such a big deal out of it like our wedding news is like one of the deepest darkest secrets in all soap operas."

Mai frowned, "Wait… you think _our_ wedding is a deep dark secret?"

"Not me. Jace."

"You think that _my_ son thinks that _our_ wedding is a deep dark secret?"

"Well… I… I was just… I…" Daniel hesitated, stammering, "W-Wait… what I'm trying to say is that I…! I… GYAAAAAH! You know how I feel when I'm under pressure!"

Back at the podium, Dedede haughtily approached Noir, Jace and Jenn, "So." He said, "I see that the White Knight is hosting a feast in honor of my upcoming world domination huh?"

Mario, Peach, Fox and Kirby joined Jace and Jenn at the podium. Jace crossed his arms, "it's Thanksgiving, King Dedede." He said to him, "It's a national holiday. Not a feast to celebrate your demise."

"Err…" Dedede hesitated, "I think you meant my _world domination._"

"Nah, I meant what I said." He smirked, "Besides if it was a feast to celebrate _your demise_, you'd be the turkey. And your house will be my stomach."

"Ooooohh!" the Smash Brothers exhaled tauntingly. Dedede's angry vein grew on his forehead. "How dare you talking to the King of Dreamland that way."

"Yeah-yeah-whatever. If you'll excuse me your Highness, my turkey is getting cold." Jace left the podium to join the crowd in the ballroom. He then stopped, turned around and curiously looked past Dedede, "…wait. Where's Noir?"

"He was just here a minute ago." Jenn said.

Suddenly a swarm of security guards, police officers, and SWAT officers barged into the ballroom. Dimentio was in front of them, trying to bar them from taking another step. All eyes turned to the uninvited group.

"Gentlemen, please. You have got it all wrong!" Dimentio begged, "There's no such thing as the Black Warp Star of the North Interstellar!"

The ballroom crowd jumped from their feet at that name. Dimentio looked around, spotting the crowd including Jace, Mai, the entire family, and the Smash Brothers.

"Uh-oh. This looks baaaad." Luigi muttered.

Mai approached Dimentio, "André." She called him, "What's going on?"

Dimentio narrowed his eyes at her, "Well if it isn't the heartbreaker, Mai-Lee. You invite your son and my daughter to Thanksgiving but not me?"

"I _did_ invite you to Thanksgiving." Mai hissed, "You must have forgotten to check your emails as usual!"

Dimentio paused, "…oh." He hesitated, "my emails… teehee…"

"Ma'am I'm sorry to tell you this, but you need to leave this ballroom." One of the SWAT officers said before facing everyone, "Everyone here needs to leave this ballroom. We had a disturbing call about a destructive item in this room."

"You mean a bomb?!" screamed Grandma Shampoo and everyone in the ballroom exclaimed in horror and panic. The enforcers tried to calm the ballroom down but the chaos quickly spread out.

"Everybody, calm down!" Pit shouted over the audience, briefly calming them down. He was airborne in the air, "There's no such thing as a bomb! But there is such thing as a Warp Star of the North Interstell—!" Pit closed his mouth, realizing what he was about to say, but too late. The crowd's murmuring got tensed.

"That is exactly what it is." The SWAT officer confirmed, "The famous Black Warp Star… or whatever that cartoonish 3D kid just said without a serious look on his face…"

"HEEY!"

The SWAT officer went on, "…has been stolen from the National Galleria of the Empire State Building last night and we've received report that the culprit who has it is right here in this very room."

More tension filled the ballroom.

"Oh come on guys, this is ridiculous." Jace said to the enforcers and the ballroom crowd, laughing nervously, "Who would want to steal a Warp Star that can kill people. Especially on Thanksgiving?"

Dedede swung his hammer across Jace's back. Jace stumbled forward as the Star flew off his jacket. The gliding Star landed before the enforcers, suspended three feet above the ground. Everyone stepped back from the Star, shocked by what they were seeing.

"Well, would you look at that?" Dedede grinned from ear to ear, "The famous Warp Star of the North Interstellar! Stolen by the so-called White Knight right here!" he laughed, "_I_ myself am thankful this year for you guys finding this treasure before it was too late!"

"Jace…?" Mai approached her son, a twisted angry look formed on her face.

Jace gulped. He grimaced, "Hi, Mom. Miss me?"

"What, in blazing hell, is that Star?" her voice rose with anger, pointing at the Star, "Is that the Star those policemen are after? The one they've reported it stolen from a NATIONAL MUSEUM?!"

Jace was silent.

"What is wrong with you?!" Mai exploded, "Who have I raised? A delinquent?!"

"Mai, please. You're overreacting." Dimentio said to the angry model, "Technically this whole thing is my fault." He tried calming her down, but she wasn't close to cooling off.

"Y'know," Grandma Shampoo muttered to Daniel and Mai, "if this ends up being his big secret, it'll _totally_ top off the big engagement wedding you guys were gonna reveal later that afternoon."

Mai and Daniel's busted eyes widened. The ballroom crowd gasped at Shampoo's announcement. Jace's guilty look suddenly shifted to a scowl, "What?"

"Mother!" Daniel hissed at Grandma Shampoo, quickly pulling her away, "What are you doing? Family secret! Big Secret! Remember?!"

"Wait… you guys are getting married?" Dimentio blurted out. He too looked shocked.

"Yeah! Isn't that exciting?" Hunt replied, joining in the conversation, "It was all over the dining table yesterday! Top of the chat! Hot topic in the discussion board."

"WHAT?" Jace exclaimed.

The Smash Brothers were watching from not far, "Okay…" Luigi muttered, "This… _reaaaally_ looks baaaad."

"Who cares?" Dedede exclaimed, "This is better than my daily soap operas!"

Kirby gave Dedede a strange look. Dedede glanced back at him, "Yeah that's right. I watch soap operas."

"Wait, you guys are getting married?" Jace repeated, his voice rising with anger, "And you told everyone without telling ME?!"

"HEY!" Mai screamed at her son, "We're only two people celebrating the love they have for each other! And we were gonna make a big announcement about it later that afternoon here at this very ballroom! YOU should know that! You're old enough to! It's not like we committed the crime of the century like you did!"

"Oh… pssht. Yeah, sure." Jace grimaced, "I committed a crime. You deliberately told everyone in the family except your one and only son about the biggest news of the year. Your wedding." He said in a singsong manner, "But that's not a crime. Noooo." His frown deepened, "But you know what the only crime you committed? By marrying this doofus right there. That's a crime."

"HEEY!" Daniel exclaimed, but Jace went on, ignoring him, "That's like taking the love you had for Dad and _Zan-Datsu_ on it like Raiden of _Metal Gear Solid Rising_!"

Mai gaped.

"But you know what?" Jace went on, "That's just my opinion. Besides, the whole world don't give a bloody crap about the love of a victim of 9/11 moving on, so as long as she's a celebrity right?"

The fuming Jace angrily removed his corduroy jacket and shoved it to Jenn, "Happy Thanksgiving you two. Enjoy the turkey." He walked past them and off the ballroom, fuming.

The ballroom was now silent. Mai now had that mixed look of shock and lament on her face. She briefly glanced back at Daniel. Daniel shook his head, "Hey… don't listen to him. He's just upset."

"I'm… I'm sorry…" she stepped back from Daniel and quickly left the ballroom.

Noir who was hiding at a corner of the ballroom podium behind the curtains had watched the entire event unfold. He tsked.

"Family drama…" he uttered, "…so yesterday."

"Who cares?" Ganondorf suddenly replied from behind him. Noir didn't even jump when he heard him. It was like he was expecting him. "Don't you have a big plan to unfold very soon?"

Noir closed his eyes, "You and Dedede will have to work your magic yourselves. _My_ magic will have to wait."

He stepped out of the ballroom via the back door. Ganondorf watched him leave. Disappointment briefly filled his face, "…oh."

A smirk slowly spread across his lips, "So it's that good huh?"

"All right, all right everybody!" Dedede hollered across the ballroom, catching attention, "Just get your attention back over 'ere!"

All eyes turned to Dedede.

"Now, I'm pretty sure y'all are wondering what are y'all gonna do with that Black Star sitting in front of you right?" Dedede asked, "Well, guess what? Wonder no more 'cuz this baby is MINE!"

The ballroom crowd murmured puzzlingly. Dedede suddenly leapt from the podium, soared into the ceiling and crashed landed before the Warp Star and the enforcers. Everyone jumped back, startled as the King menacingly pulled out his mallet.

"Yeah, I said it! This baby is MINE!" he violently swung his mallet around, causing everyone to jump back, "And I'M gonna use it! And nobody in this universe will come and stop me!"

"Oh yeah?!" Mario stepped before King Dedede. Kirby briefly joined him, "WHAAOO!"

"We beg to differ." Mario's fists clenched. Soon Peach, Luigi, Samus, Fox, Falco, Diddy, Dixie Kongs, and Meta Knight joined in also.

"We the Smash Brothers," Meta-Knight said, "will make sure you don't even try to steal anything that belongs to our world," He pointed his blade forward at him. "OR their world."

"We'll make sure of that!" Fox exclaimed and everyone chatted in agreement.

"Oh-Hooo!" Dedede chuckled, "I will loooooove to see all of you try."

xXx

What remained of the formal Twin Towers were footprints of the towers themselves; shaped in squares with gushes of water flowing around its edges 60 feet deep. A large onyx-colored tablet filled with many names inscribed in fine silver surrounded these squares. These were the names of the victims of the 9/11 tragedy, grouped according to where they died and where they worked. The name '_Henri Jacen Dimentio_ ' was among these names.

Jace silently stared at that name. It was his father's name.

Henri was a successful businessman. A CEO in a major company on the 86th Floor of the Second Twin Tower. He was very busy, yet very stubborn like his son. Usually Henri would always run late for work. But he didn't mind the rush hours and the cramming time frames. But on that day he was supposed to score a major business acquisition deal with one major corporation. So running late was not an option.

But what he never expected was the attack. The plane cutting through the first twin tower warned him and his colleagues that something bad happened. But distracted by the screaming and the evacuation of people from the first tower, as well as the countless sirens from ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles, they never got the chance to exit from the second tower when the opportunity presented itself… until the second plane struck that tower.

Jace was at school when he heard of the attack. And Mai was at work. There was no time to watch the news on the TV. They've rushed to the site, trying to get to Henri, but the cloud of smokes and the crowd of people—the firefighters, the policemen—all trying to evacuate and steering people clear from the debris, proved impossible to get them to Henri. Eight hours after, he was gone. Ten years since, his remains were never found.

Jace inhaled, as he felt the tears building in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath. He missed his dad so much it still ached. Whenever he was in trouble, he would be there for him, if not 100% of the time due to work, but still. They played all kinds of games and would always hang out at the best spots in New York, Japan and even Italy, his home country. Now that he was gone, this guy Daniel showed up in the picture, trying to replace him and act all father-figure when he sucked at it. It disgusted him. Now he asked her to marry her, his Mom. And she said yes.

His fists clenched at the very thought that Mom would actually forget about Dad. _He_ however didn't. Changing his first name to Jace was a no-brainer.

It was then he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, glancing briefly at his mom. He then turned back to the name on the plaque, scoffing vilely. "What are you doing here…?"

Mai was quiet for a second. "Coming to see you?" she said; a hint of empathy in her tone of voice.

He rolled his eyes and slightly shook his head.

Mai stepped forward, laid a hand around her son's shoulder and rubbed it in comfort. She briefly stared at the name before turning to her son, "Oh honey… are you okay?"

Jace shrugged, "Why shouldn't I be? I mean…" he pursed his lips, "You clearly have moved on, right? With your new soon-to-be husband Daniel?" he turned to her, "Aren't you supposed to be with him?"

"Not when it displeases you."

Jace turned back to the name and sighed.

"Look honey." Mai began with gentleness in her voice, "I feel your pain. We both do."

"No you don't." Jace muttered.

"Yes. I do." Mai emphasized, "For years I couldn't stop crying. I… I asked myself that same question, 'what am I going to do with my life as a single mother with my only child?'" She briefly paused, "And you know what you told me? That I'm not getting any younger."

Jace slightly chuckled, "Yeah. Regretted it ever since."

"But I'm a successful model now." She said, "If it wasn't for your support…" she shook her head, "…I don't know where I would be."

Jace said nothing. Mai observed the name again.

"Your father was a great guy was he?" she said, "Very handsome. Very rich…" she glanced back at her son, "…just like you."

"Yeah…" Jace had a small smile on his face before turning to his mom, "At least you got the handsome part right."

Mai quietly laughed. So did Jace. Once again there was silence between the duo as they stared at the name again.

"I can't believe it's been 10 years since that tragedy." Mai lamented, "If only…" She was quiet again. "…if only he had left for work 2 hours late as he usually does." She recalled.

Jace slowly turned to his mom.

"He _had_ to pick that day…! He had to…!" She stopped. Tears filled her eyes. Her lips trembled.

Jace couldn't help but notice the immense sadness enveloping his mom right now. That was the exact sadness he was feeling just now, when the entire time he thought the opposite about her and her feelings for Dad. His heart ached again seeing her this way. It was now his turn to rubbed her shoulder with comfort. Mai took a tissue from her purse and gently dabbed her eyes.

"I'm sorry…" her voice broke, "…I thought I got over this but…" she sniffled.

"…but you're not."

Mai sniffled.

"Mom. I…" He sighed deeply, "I'm sorry for lashing out at you like that back at the ballroom. It was totally uncalled for."

"No Jace, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay." Jace said, "Mom, I'm the one who pushed you to move on in the first place and I thought that…" he paused, "I thought that your meeting with Daniel had completely made you forget about Dad and all that we went through. I'm the one who actually… _Zan-Datsu_ Dad's heart."

"No!" she stepped in front of him, "No, you didn't honey. Please, don't blame yourself! What you did was right. You were looking out for me."

She went on, "_I'm_ the one who should be sorry. I failed to put your happiness firsthand. I've always put myself up first. I mean…" she sighed, "I didn't tell you about our engagement for crying out loud… and I completely forgotten about our Thanksgiving tradition."

"But what _you_ did for me honey was good. Really good." She said, "Ever since you _encouraged_ me to move on, I've pursued a lifelong dream of mine in modeling, and I've met a wonderful man in Daniel. Daniel is the best thing that has ever happened to me since your father passed away."

"But you need to remember honey," she went on, "that your father will always have a special place in my heart." She then shook her head, "And there's nothing in this world that will make me forget him _or_ replace him."

Jace smiled lightly, "I can see that now." He sighed, "…and as for Daniel, I'll apologize to him for my actions, and I'll try my best to…" he gulped, "…like him more."

Mai fought back tears of joy. She gently rubbed his cheek, "That's all I want…"

The duo briefly hugged.

"But Jace…" she sniffled, "…you have to promise me… that no matter what happens to you, that you will live, for me to see your grandchildren. And whenever you're in trouble, you always tell me what's going on, okay?"

That got Jace a bit uneasy. "Uhh…" he hesitated. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head on one side.

Jace grimaced, "…is this about that Star that I stole from the galleria?"

Mai's face turned grim again, "What do you think?"

Jace was eerily quiet. Mai crossed her arms, "Please Jace. _Please_ tell me what's going on. Why did you do this? I know you're rebellious, but not _that_ rebellious."

"Yeah…" Jace grimaced again, briefly looking away from her stern eyes, "Right…" he looked back, "Remember when I tried to register for the US Army to find the men responsible for the lives of so many people in those Twin Towers and also bring justice on their weenie little heads to avenge Dad and all those people who died with him?"

"You were only 10-year old and rebellious." She recalled, "Why?"

"Well…" Jace paused again, "You might wanna sit down for this one. Because what you're about to hear…" he shook his head, "You're not gonna like it."

xXx

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

Mai's scream violently shook Central Park's trees, sending half of the pigeons and birds into the sky in sheer panic.

xXx

Dedede laughed out loud, sitting proudly on top of the Turkey float, slowly and surely crossing the streets of New York.

"Soon in due time, I'm gonna be unleashing a powerful gift on this Thanksgiving fiesta! A motherload of coals! A hot and deadly sprinkle of holiday un-cheer! It'll knock your consciences off! EHHH HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!"

The animated turkey float squawked, shifted back, engorged its cheekbones then stretched its beak open. The Smash Brothers shot out of the turkey's beak in a waterfall of confetti.

"WHOA! HOW GROSS IS THAT?" shouted one of the Thanksgiving Day Parade hosts—a middle-aged man, "The Turkey float just puked out a bunch of confettis mixed with colorful characters!"

"This is what happen when you stuff the turkey too many stuffings." the second Thanksgiving Day Parade host, a middle-aged woman, joked. The crowd cheered on at that confetti display.

"Wait a minute! Those are not colorful characters!" the third host at the Parade—another middle-aged man, but African-American—exclaimed, "Look again!"

"Oh my gosh, you're right! These are Nintendo characters!" the woman host replied, "Mario, Peach, Luigi, Kirby, Fox, Falco, Pit, one monkey from the Donkey Kong series, and a machine!"

"That's Diddy Kong and ROB the Robot." the first host corrected, "And if I'm correct, having these Nintendo characters together means one thing: they are all part of the upcoming video game Super Smash Brothers 3D, coming to the Nintendo 3DS!"

"And it looks like they're here at the Parade, to dazzle us with a surprising show." the female host said.

"After what happened last month with the Battle of New York bit, Nintendo surely is not about to give up on surprising us!" the third host added.

The Smash Brothers faced Dedede. They heard the crowd cheering wildly for them. They briefly looked around the city packed with people, smiles, and confettis.

"Boy. Do those human look really stupid right now." Dedede laughed before revealing the Black Warp Star to the mass audience, "But with this Black Warp Star in play, we'll see who's gonna _really_ look stupid."

"Uhh... you?" Falco said. The Smash Brothers chortled. Dedede glowered murderously at the falcon pilot, "Oh, so you wanna go there huh? Do you wanna go—!"

Meta-Knight landed a kick in Dedede's head. Dedede let go off the Star. The crowd watched the Star make a wide arc descend into a Sonic the Hedgehog Balloon. Sonic who was on top of the balloon stopped waving at his audience to watch the Warp Star coming toward him. He jumped off the balloon and everyone spread out of the way screaming. The Star landed on the balloon and exploded. The crowd watched million of dust, sparkles and confettis filling the air where the balloon used to be.

"My balloon!" Sonic exclaimed. "My beautiful precious balloon!"

"We've just received report not far from us that the Sonic the Hedgehog balloon has taken a big explosion on contact with the star." the lady host said, "The good news is, nobody got hurt. The bad news is we'd have to create another Sonic balloon soon, causing more delay."

The Smash Brothers appeared stunned. Dedede slowly stood up, rubbing on his sore head, "Urr..."

"Wait... that's it?" Mario blinked. He faced the Meta-Knight, "That's what the Black Warp Star did?"

Meta-Knight was silent.

"I thought you said it'll explode the world!" Fox exclaimed, "Not pop a balloon!"

Meta-Knight turned to his comrades, "It appears that my theory and that of the humans were wrong this whole time. The Black Warp Star of the North Interstellar is simply nothing but... a Black Star with little to no value."

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME?!" Dedede barked, catching the crowd's attention again, "I slaved and I slaved and I slaved to get that bloody star for NOTHING?!"

He leapt off the turkey's head and landed on the float's floor. He looked around, anger boiling into steams shooting through his nose, "Where is that boggle-minded no goody-two-shoes kid Deroi? Or what's his face? He tricked me!"

Jace and Mai came into the parade right on cue, along with Jenn and Dimentio.

"HEY!" Jace shouted over to Dedede. "Penguin face! Dedede!" The King turned to his attention.

"I'm calling you out!" Jace pointed at him, "Where's the Warp Star? And where are Daniel and the others?"

On cue the crowd heard voices and noises inside the turkey's stomach. They gasped, horrified. Dedede smirked, "Why they are inside this turkey of course." Dedede chuckled, "Isn't that the whole point of Thanksgiving? Stuffings?"

"You mean that oversized animated 3D character has my fiance and his grandmother stuffed inside this turkey?" Mai gaped, "And the entire ballroom too?"

"That's right!" Dedede replied, "You wanna rescue them?! You'd have to get through me first! Oh, and while you're at it, give up the Warp Star of the North Interstellar!"

Jace frowned, "What? But I don't have it!"

"Forget about it Jace." Peach said to him, "The Star is gone."

"Apparently, that Star has little to no value this entire time." Mario said, "All it did was explode a balloon."

"Wait... so I broke the law for NOTHING?!" Jace exclaimed.

Dedede roared, pounding on his squishy yet overweight stomach. Mai pushed Jace forward, "Jace, go get him. And go get my fiance!"

"Wh-what?" Jace panicked.

"You got yourself into this mess, so fix it." Mai exclaimed.

Before Jace could say something, Dedede once again felt a heavy foot land hard on his head. He toppled to the ground. Sonic was on top of him.

"Oh, wait. I think it's been fixed." Mai uttered.

"Hey, you beakbrain!" Sonic hissed at Dedede, "Thanks for exploding my balloon back there!" He then started pounding on him incessantly. "You now owe me fifteen minutes of balloon restoration and fifteen seconds of my fame!"

"OW! OW! OWE! OW! OW!"

The Smash Brothers seized that chance to break the turkey's stomach and free all the prisoners inside. The crowd cheered on wildly.

"And everyone stuffed inside that turkey are free!" the male host exclaimed.

"This is a Thanksgiving miracle!" the female host added.

"Now how is that gonna end is up to you America! Oh... wait. We're not doing a poll!" said the third host.

"I know how this will end." Jace grinned. He pulled out his 3DS and summoned a bunch a stampeded of Waddle Dees right onto the float to everyone's surprise.

"What the...?" Mai gasped.

"Jace what are you—?" Dimentio exclaimed.

"Trust me on this guys." Jace said before facing Kirby, "KIRBY!"

Kirby turned to Jace.

"Ready for Super-Inhale?"

The stampede of Waddle Dee jerkily looked up, "HEIN?!"

Kirby smiled widely and nodded, "HIYAAH!"

"Go!" Jace commanded. Kirby stretched out his mouth, closed his eyes and a powerful suction dragged the entire Waddle Dee stampede straight into Kirby's mouth. Kirby then landed in front of Dedede, his puffed-up cheeks aiming at his face. "Wuh-oh…" Dedede stepped back.

Kirby spat a giant Star heading straight for the king. A massive explosion rendered the parade and all watched the King flew into the sky in smoke. "QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…"

The crowd wildly cheered on. Confettis flew across the streets, dancers swung their legs in glee, Jace, Jenn and the Smash Brothers mightily pumped their fists in the air.

"We did it!" Jace exclaimed.

"WHOO!" Jenn squealed.

"VICTORY DANCE!"

Kirby jumped in front of the grand Thanksgiving parade. Jace, Hunt, Jenn, the Smash Brothers and everyone else joined in.

"Hii-YAA!" Kirby cheered.

(_Kirby Victory dance_) _tatatatatatata-ta-ta! tatatatatatata-ta-ta! tatatatatatata-ta-ta! ta-ta! ta-ta! ta-ta! PSHHT!_

The crowd cheered.

Jace and Jenn noticed their victory dance poses, quickly blushed pink with shame and rushed to the sidelines to join their loved ones.

"Well, that was embarrassing." Jace muttered.

"HONEY, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!" Mai hugged her son tightly.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa… wait." He quickly pushed away, "For dancing like that?"

"No. For taking out that bad guy without getting hurt!" Mai smiled broadly, "That's exactly what I raised you to be." She paused, "Well… actually your father raised you that way. _I_ raised you to be nice no matter what."

Jace laughed.

"What a rush... I hate it." murmured Grandma Shampoo, catching Mai and Jace's attentions. They spotted her with Daniel, and all the other Ballroom guests exiting the float. She rushed up to them. "Daniel, you're okay!" she hugged him.

"Oh yes honey. I am." Daniel uttered, "Being stuffed in this turkey float was terrifying!" he exclaimed, "Now I know how all those poor stuffing feel like on Thanksgiving."

"Oh, so you feel for the stuffings but not the turkey?" Mai said.

"One thing at a time please."

Daniel glanced over to Jace. He approached him, "Hey sport."

Jace nodded, managing to smile, "Hey."

"So listen, I know how you feel about me marrying your mom, but that doesn't give you the right to—!"

"Daniel please, it's okay." he said.

Daniel was stunned, "It is?"

"Yeah." Jace replied, "I'm the one who didn't wanted a new father in the first place. I was insecure. But, if you're willing to make my mom happy, then I'll be happy."

"But..." Jace approached Daniel threateningly, "If you make my mom unhappy..."

Meta-Knight morphed in before Daniel, startling him. Jace grinned callously, "...I have a friend." Meta-Knight swung his blade in a sweeping fashion. Daniel gulped.

"Dad!" Jenn ran to her father. The two hugged. "You're okay?"

"I'm all right sweetie." Dimentio said, "Just glad this whole thing is over. Had too many excitements for one day."

"Dad. It's Thanksgiving. The excitement is far from over."

Dimentio pursed his lips, "Well...boohoo for me."

"That was one heck of a firework show we just got, ladies and gentlemen!" The first parade host exclaimed, kicking back on the parade celebration, "Super Smash Bros. at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade is way better than any celebration we've seen and felt!"

"But we're gonna be taking a short break!" the second host exclaimed, "We'll be right back with more bands, more music, more balloons and floats as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade returns!"

xXx

Later that day,

"Everyone, let's dig in!" Mai cheerfully said before the Thanksgiving feast and everyone went for their favorite piece of turkey, scoops of mashed potatoes and gravy, baked mac and cheese, and all sort of assorted dishes and pastries on the table. The entire family was there—Daniel, Grandma Shampoo, Jenn and Dr. Dimentio, Hunt and Jace himself—and so were the Smash Brothers. It was quite an animated reunion, and the table was enough for everyone.

"Mai, I gotta say." Dr. Dimentio talked with his mouth full, "This… is the best feast… ever."

"Yeah, Aunt Mai. This is delicious." Jenn said.

"Aww…" Mai cooed.

"Yeah. Better than that thanksgiving one at the ballroom." Hunt chuckled, "Man, what a disaster."

Mai glared at him. Hunt gulped, "I mean… not a disaster…"

The family laughed, "It's okay, Hunt." Mai said laughing, "I think we can all establish it was disastrous with the… ahem… unannounced wedding announcement and all…" she glared at Grandma Shampoo on cue.

"HEEY!" Shampoo hissed, "I was excited, okay?"

"Yeah, way to go granny." Falco muttered at the woman and the Smash Brothers laughed out loud.

"Hey, one-a thing for sure though, is that Kirby has learned to control his appetite!" Mario commented and everyone agreed. Kirby was shoving chunks of hams, turkeys, glazed veggies, hams and all sorts of goodie foods into his mouth. "Yuuum!" Kirby exclaimed after swallowing and licking his lips.

"Good Kirby." Peach giggled, "Just don't eat too much. You don't wanna get an achy stomach."

BuUuUuUuUrP!" Kirby belched, and everyone at the table exploded with laughter.

"Y'know how happy I am to be part of this family." Daniel said with a smile, "That's what the holidays are all about: family, love, and cheers all around." He then turned to Mai and gently pressed himself on her with his arm around her shoulder, "…and I get to share them with you on our wedding day tomorrow."

"Just be sure you be good to Mom, all right?" Jace said to Daniel with a big genuine smile on his face.

"Don't worry sport." Daniel reassured him, "Your mom is a gem."

"Aww…" Mai blushed.

"Uggghh…!" Jace cringed. So did Hunt in response. The teens and the Smash Bros. laughed.

"Come on guys, it's romantic!" Jenn complained.

"Yeah no fair." Peach whined.

"Yeah… don't you forget young man!" Shampoo exclaimed at her grandson, "Love always finds its way. Who knows, maybe someday you and Jenn might hit it off!"

Jenn and Jace stared at each other. "EWW NOOO!" Hunt and Shampoo laughed uproariously.

"Hey guys, knock it off, all right?" Mai said, "it's gonna be a perfect Christmas." She then giggled, "Because I love this man like my perfect nutcracker."

"Aww…" Daniel blushed also and the duo went for a kiss.

"EEEWWWWW!" the Smash Bros. exclaimed in disgust, stopping the kiss. Grandma Shampoo, Jenn and Peach argued that this was cute and very romantic, but the guys all disagreed, thinking it's all mushy and washy. The couple and everyone at the table teased and laughed.

Kirby suddenly groaned, holding on his stomach and turning green. The table suddenly turned silent at his sight.

"Aw man..." Luigi uttered, "Kirby doesn't look good."

"Is he gonna... vomit?" Peach said with worry.

"Worse. He's gonna...!"

Kirby straightened up and jumped on the table, "WAAO!" he squealed with a widened smile growing on his face.

"No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!" everyone screamed but too late. Kirby unhinged his jaws, stretched out his mouth and—.

xXx

~**The Day after Thanksgiving…**~

Jace, Hunt, Jenn, Patricia, Mario and Peach were all at the exquisitely designed living room of the Imperial Suite by a grand piano. The living room was large enough to fit them all, and it was quite cozy and warm with the crisping fireplace on during a foggy snowy day.

"I can't believe your mom was nice enough to give us this suite. Patricia sounded a bit bitter, yet she couldn't stop admiring his fancy new Imperial suite. "And for how long? Thirty days?"

The Smash Brothers laughed out loud, "Don't-a be ridiculous, Patty." Mario said, "It is-a more than that."

"Four-year prepaid rent." Jace said, "Till we finish college at least."

"Ugh." Pat rolled her eyes, "My family can't even afford the Rose Suite. I'm only lucky because I begged my uncle to take care of me for the winter, or else I'll be gone."

"You know you can visit us anytime right?" Jenn said.

"Yeah…" Pat sighed, "But hey, where's your Mom anyway?" she then looked around, "…and… half of the Smash Brothers?"

"Yeah, they went out." Jace said calmly, "She wanted the Smash Brothers to help her out on some holiday shopping."

"Shopping?" Peach turned curious, she glanced back at the clock which was fifteen minutes from midnight, "At this hour?"

The characters groaned uncomfortably.

"Yeah… you don't wanna know, Peach." Jace sighed, "You do NOT… wanna know."

xXx

_Nutcracker's Suite_ played in every Mall's speakers. The crowd filled the foyers and fists were flying across stores, thousands tackled at each other and few pulled each other's hair and shopping bags.

One frantic woman looked around; a large Macy's shopping bag clutched in hands, as she cautiously crossed past the mayhem before her and kept her eyes out for her family awaiting her at the mall's corner near two escalators. She watched two elderly ladies—one middle aged, and one really old and scrawny-looking—pulling at an expensive high-tech microwave. The scrawny one finally yanked the microwave from the mid-age woman and swung her purse across the mid-age's face. She flew through the mall's railings and the scrawny lady took off without looking. The coast was now clear. The frantic woman started running for her family.

Then Falco landed before her, blocking her path, "AH-HAA!"

"HAAA!" she screamed.

"NOW I've got you!" Falco giggled evilly before unleashing his Falco Phantasm at her. He zipped past her at a blinding speed and reappeared behind her, carrying her heavy Macy's shopping bag. The stunned woman screamed.

"Hey, give it back!"

Falco started running but then he stopped before another woman, dressed up like a ninja. "HIYAAAA!" she threw a few flying Taekwondo air kicks before posing, distracting Falco. "WHHOOOOAaaaaaaa…" She then threw a Palm Thrust at him. Falco let go of the bag. Fox grabbed the bag in midair and started sprinting past more chasing mobs. More crazed shoppers jumped on him, pinning him; but he zipped past them with his Fox Illusion.

Fox zipped past Samus, who was in her Zero Suit. She ran across the hungry shoppers, fending them off with her Pistol Whip, carrying four bags of fancy outfits and jewelries in her arms. She leapt from the ground and tossed the bags toward Kirby.

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" Kirby already had his jaws open, inhaling the bags into his mouth, pumped up Mai-Lee's incessant cheering, "GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!"

More shoppers closed in on Mai. She threw a 180 degree swing of her shopping bag full of high-tech gadgets across her attackers' jaws. She then delivered a Hurricane Kick "HIII-YAA!"

Her attackers quickly pulled back, helplessly watching Kirby swallowing a bunch of shopping bags and on-sale items. Falco, Fox, and ZS Samus joined her and Kirby just as the puffball swallowed the last items. But that didn't calm down the chaos in the mall.

"Got everything?!" Mai yelled.

"Meta-Knight is missing." ZS Samus said.

Another elderly woman ran past by the Smash Brothers and Mai, laughing maniacally and waving with one hand one small shopping bag, "HAA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA-HA! HA-HA! HA-HA! HAAA-H—!"

Meta Knight swung his cape out, wrapping the woman with it. The whole mall darkened and everyone stopped fighting for each other's on-sale items.

"Know my power!" Meta-Knight's voice echoed across the mall, followed by the woman's ear-piercing scream, and a blade cutting through flesh in a sharp sweeping stroke.

The light suddenly went on and the crowd watched the elderly woman crash before them, unconscious with the clothes she wore torn in shreds. Everyone screamed.

The crowd then watched Luigi's Bumblebee Kart speed right past them. They then watched Meta-Knight with the woman's small shopping bag on one floor heading toward Luigi's direction. Meta-Knight jumped into Luigi's kart and together they drove until they reached Mai and the rest of the Smash Bros. Now the mass crowd of shoppers had turned their greedy attention toward them.

"She used violence to get what she wants!" one of the women exclaimed.

"GET THEEEEEEEM!" wailed another woman from the crowd and the crowd went in pursuit of the Smash Brothers and Mai. There were so many screams it was unbearable, "Take their stuffs! Rip them to shred! Don't let that masked ball guy touch you with his cape!"

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY!" Mai and the Smash Brothers screamed at each other as they all tried to quickly board the tiny Kart, shoving and pushing each other, before the crowd reached them. The kart took off at a blinding speed with Luigi now flying from the back seat. Cheers and bawls filled the mall.

"WHOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO! IN YOUR FACE, BLACK FRIDAY CROWD! IN… YOUR… FAAAAACE!"

**xXx**

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes**

Know the true identity of the White Knight! Following the season finale next!

Warning! New Challenger Approaching: Palutena joins the cast in our next cliffhanging episode! Fitting in is gonna be VERY hard for her. And so is retrieving her special Mirror, which very well relates to our 3rd Dimensional plot! And recurring OC Ryan Somith will also make a hacking debut!

The episode which will end in a cliffhanger. Who will survive? Jace is in grave and mortal danger thanks to Noir. And the Smash Bros. must save New York from a powerful Medusa, who is now helping the Nintendo villains set their plan in motion against our heroes... and Noir, the notorious Nintendo exec is not only the perfect man for the job... he's something more.

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Uprising in 3D_


	10. Ep8:: Uprising in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

**A/N**: Happy Wii U Day! Hope you're enjoying your brand-new console! But if you're currently taking a break...

...there it is. The last episode of the year. This one is full of action. So pace yourself. Enjoy it at the fullest.

And to those who are tempted to skip to the end, make sure you don't. ;)

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_Uprising in 3D_

* * *

**_-The Day the Nintendo Characters came to our World-_**

Palutena's olive eyes glimmered back to life. The goddess gasped, as she stared about ominously before her. Thousands of cars and people zipped past her. She stood right in the middle of skyscrapers and millions of lights towering over her. She's never seen such marvel before…ever in her ever-loving life in Skyworld. She never thought she'd ended up here in this place—Times Square, New York.

"Oh my," she stopped to take notice, drowning in the wonders of the city, the boutiques, the bright lights covering the towers like zits, the flashing billboards of ads and movies trailers, the honking cars, followed by the cries of the drivers hissing at her to get out of the way … and the onlookers staring at her as if she was a complete total crazy stranger. All under one clear night sky.

"Pit?" she whispered at first, but when she got no response she shouted all the loudest, "PIT?" still no response but she pressed, "If you can hear me, I want you to listen carefully." She glanced at the crowd who now glowered at her like she really _was_ crazy.

"I just found myself wandering in this strange world where they are a lot of humans. And they are all…" she glanced at them once more before a small smile formed over her lips, "…marveling at my beautiful form. It's like they've never seen me before in my life. They must want my autograph."

She shook her head and her frown deepened, "But I am in another world filled with humans and I want you to find me if you can. I don't know where you are, but I'm worried about you and your fellow comrades of the Nintendo World. Everyone could be in danger of an impending disaster. I must seek help."

She turned to one of the onlookers: a mustached man with glasses, and approached, "E-Excuse me? Human." she called out to him. "Could you please point your goddess the direction to—?"

He fled before she could finish her sentence. Then she heard them whispering words like, "Did she say call herself goddess?" "She must be another one of those cartooned characters." "She needs to leave." They were all saying.

Soon their collective muttering turned into jeers and angry protests like, "Hey, get outta here!" "You don't belong here!" "Go back to where you come from!" "You're not a goddess! Ah! Ha! Don't make us laugh!"

"Hey!" Palutena formed an angry fist, "I AM your goddess whether you like it or not! I demand you give me some respects if you wanna-!"

**_HOONK!_**

Palutena whizzed her head back and headlights flashed on her face. A taxi cab driver put on his brakes, but was too late. His car slammed right onto Palutena and the goddess flew into the starry sky, screaming. Everyone gasped. The taxi driver got out of the vehicle and watched the mint-haired deity fade into a speck among the city stars.

**xXx**

**_-Present Day-_**

Jenn and Jace were inside Noir's rich penthouse. They were with Luigi, Zelda, Link, Fox, and Falco. The huge fancy room was filled with expensive furniture gleaming white walls, projecting a futuristic but Modern-Day feel.

Unpleasant memories of Noir blackmailing Jace flooded back to Jace at being in that room again. But for Jenn and our beloved Nintendo characters, it was going to be a pleasant one due to the fancy room that'll have people talking.

There was a dining room table with a dozen leather chairs to the northwest corner, a black piano before a grand corridor to the northeast corner which led to a glass elevator, and right in the middle of the room was a sunken area with black leather chesterfield and a coffee table equipped with tiny tea glasses, a thermos, and a TV remote. A huge Samsung HDTV was hooked near the ceiling, facing the sunken area and all corners of the room.

Luigi approached the HDTV. "Whoa…" A finger moved toward the black screen, "…is that an actual TV? Since when do they hook-a it to a wall?"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Falco barked, pulled out his ray gun and pulled the trigger. A red beam zipped past Luigi. Luigi jumped and tripped, plopping right on one of the sofas of the sunken area.

All eyes turned to the TV, now emitting a black smoke from a broken screen. The smoke triggered a fire alarm.

"Wait to go, Falco." Fox scolded, "Couldn't you be a little less panicky?"

"Hey, that was expensive!" Jenn scolded the bird.

"Dude." Jace sighed disappointedly.

"Hey, don't blame me for being paranoid." Falco exclaimed. "When I'm told to escort Jenn to the house of the White Knight's worst enemy, I had to come prepared and ready."

Jenn then turned to her cousin, "yeah I can't believe you told them about my date with Noir." She shook her head, "I don't want a double date… or a triple, quad, quint or sect…date? I want a regular date!"

"I know." Jace said, "But he's Noir. He can't be trusted."

"I'm right here." The voice of Noir caught their attention. Noir gracefully stepped into the living room and stopped a couple of feet away from his guests. Luigi quickly shuffled off the sofa and stood firm. Link, Zelda, and Fox hunched uneasily before the broken TV screen.

"Sorry about that black thing, Mister Noir." Link said to him.

"It was an accident really." Zelda added, and Fox agreed, "A rather unfortunate accident."

Jenn stepped before Noir, "It's not their fault Noir. Really, it wasn't." She said, "But I'll make sure it gets taken care of."

Noir shook his head and smiled broadly, "hey, don't worry about it." He said, placing a hand on his chest, "I don't watch TV that much anyway. But if I did, I can always buy a new one."

The group, except Jace and Falco who tried to, all smiled. Noir then looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows that gave a breathtaking panoramic view of the city.

"Beautiful weather we're having. Wouldn't you say?" Noir noted the sun sneaking its head behind the crowd of Northern Manhattan skyscrapers.

"Yeah." Jenn agreed, "It is kinda beautiful—!"

"Actually I was talking… to these Nintendo guys." Noir grinned sheepishly, "Sorry Jenn. I'm just… really trying to let the shock of seeing my favorite idols sink in my mind."

"Oh!" Jenn blushed as Jace rolled his eyes, "R-right! Of course!"

Noir approached Link and Zelda and reached out for a handshake. The duo returned the handshake. "It's because of you that I enjoy going to work every day." Noir said firmly, "I should give you all a proper welcome to our beloved City of New York. We have many places to go. People to see…"

"Thank you… uh, Sir." Link said politely. And Zelda added, "…for the proper welcome."

Zelda then turned to Jace and whispered, "Seriously, he is nice!"

"Ugh… kiss-up." Jace muttered, almost out loud for Noir to hear. But the suave teen ignored him.

"But first—!" he said, walking toward the kitchen and through its drawers, "I must offer a proper gift."

He pulled out a small box and turned to Jenn. Jenn smiled wildly, blushing and raising one shoulder coyly, "…for me?"

"Actually," he turned to Jace, "it's for him."

Jace raised an eyebrow, almost taken by surprise. "Me?" He pointed at his chest, creasing his frown.

"Just a gift of condolence." Noir opened the box lid and went for its content, "From yours truly." He said, pulling out a key with a ruby red keychain. "But you can only pick one."

He tossed him one key. Jace caught it midair. Noir then went for the next item: another key with a lime-green keychain. He tossed them again to Jace and he caught it midair also. The young teen still gazed with squinted eyes, flabbergasted.

"What are these for?" He asked.

**xxx**

"A Green Ninja Sportsbike? Or a Ruby Red Ferrari?" Noir said, "Both paid in full. Your choice."

"Whooaaaa…!" Jace breathed in awe.

Jenn looked back at Noir, taken aback to the extravagant gifts he gave Jace. The group stood by a parking lot, at the main level of the skyscraper residence. "Noir. Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Positive." He replied, "Oh, and would you excuse me for a second? I'd like to speak with Jace in private."

Jenn, Jace and the Smash Bros. all exchanged nervous look.

"Careful. It's a trick!" Falco muttered with narrowed eyes. Noir bashfully scratched the back of his head.

"No it's not Falco!" Jenn scolded again before turning to Noir, "We'll step out for a minute." She started walking away as the Nintendo characters followed her.

"But don't you think it's a trick?" Falco argued again and Link added that it shouldn't concern them. Zelda agreed Jace can take care of himself, while Fox let out a snort, declaring a different view. "Have you seen his room at night?" she'll point out she never saw his room as it was private. Falco argued that a sign that says "Keep Out" is not private but a call for adventure. And Jenn raged at the colorful cast's invasion of privacy. Luigi was looking back at Noir and Jace, feeling rather nervous.

Finally Noir and Jace were alone and Jace turned to the suave teen.

"All right Noir. What are you up to?"

Noir shrugged, "What am I up to… what?" he said nonchalantly.

"The gifts!" Jace pointed them out, "The sports bike! The Ferrari! Are you bribing me?"

"You want a million bucks? 'Cuz I can give you a million bucks."

"No I want you to leave Jenn alone. You're not worth her time, or mine!" then there was a pause, "…after you hand me the check. Come on." He opened his hand to Noir.

Noir chuckled, "Oh come on now, Jakey. I make one mistake and I get labeled for life."

"Dude, you blackmailed me!"

"And that was the old me." Noir pulled out a small envelope from his jacket, "this is the new one." He handed the letter to Jace. Jace stared at it briefly before eying Noir, "The new you is in an envelope?"

Noir shook his head without a word but his million dollar smile remained. Jace finally took the letter and opened it to reveal its content. It was a gold business card with the word Nintendo engraved over a Star picture.

"Congratulations." Noir declared, with almost a forced sympathetic excitement in his voice, "You're now officially a _premier_ member of Nintendo's League of Video Gaming Legends in London. Of course I will pay for all the traveling fees and lounging."

Jace looked back to Noir, surprise glittered in his olive eyes.

"The League of Video Gaming Legends?" Jace raised his brow at him, "As in _the _League of Video Gaming Legends? Are you sleazy sneaky business boy for real?"

He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head on one side, "What's the catch?"

Noir shook his head innocently, "No catch."

Jace squinted hard.

"What?" Noir shrugged, "Don't believe me. Don't care. Ever since the Nintendo characters made their way here to New York, we in the company thought it'd be fitting for any gamer and fan to literally join in on an adventure with Nintendo characters. So the Company and the famous League of Video Gaming Legends have merged together to endorse this plan to have gamers and video game characters join force together on various side quests. Only members get this special gaming treatment and I immediately thought of you."

Jace danced his fingers around the business card and held it up to the sunlight, admiring its shimmering glow, "Gee uhh… thanks?" he bleakly said, not sure whether to be really excited or really nervous about this.

"I will make arrangement for you to meet the League before we can offer you your first mission. Which I think is very crucial for the sake of the Nintendo characters and our world."

Noir then paused briefly, "And you might wanna start going now. You'll be leaving on a jet plane in one hour."

Jace looked up with wide eyes. "Wait… what?"

A limo suddenly pulled up behind Jace. The door swung open and a huge hand grabbed him from behind. "Whoa!" Jace felt yanked into the limo, plopped down on his seat and before he could even scream, the limo sped out of the parking lot.

Noir simply gave a two-finger salute as he watched the limo disappear into a dust speck, "Have fun now." He said to himself before turning around and casually walked back to the lobby of his skyscraper apartment. The walls of the apartment were all made of glass and skylight, and there were few residents in fancy suits coming and going and checking at the reception desk which was made of a white marble abstract. He found Jenn and the Smash Bros. there.

Jenn had a look of concern as she was glancing by the window for her cousin.

"Hey, that limo just took Jace with it." She met Noir's dark gaze, "Where did he go?" she asked.

"He took off." Noir replied, "Left with his two gifts too."

Jenn's brow creased. She and the Nintendo characters all exchanged puzzled glances. Fox then cocked his head on one side. "Okay, now that's a vague answer." he said.

"…but… where did he go?" Jenn pressed.

Noir pursed his lips and his eyes scrolled up to the skylight.

**xXx**

"In London?!" Hunt shouted out loud back at the MiiVerse section of the Nintendo World Store. He, alongside Mario, Peach, Kirby, Pikachu, and Pit were currently on FaceTime with Jace via one of the floating screens around the MiiVerse.

"I'm on my way to London man!" Jace said gleefully from the comfort of his private jet seat. The plane was already suspended in the skies when Jace made the call from his iPhone. "In a private jet! Isn't that exciting?" he gushed.

"That's-a not exciting." Mario shook his head in disagreement and so did Peach, Kirby and Pikachu who all uttered different mutual noises.

"Yeah man! That's not exciting!" Hunt barked in agreement also. "We need you! Your uncle and Samus just found another Nintendo character here in the city and it turns out to be a really hot babe!"

"Really?" he put on a disbelieving smile.

"Really!" Hunt said out loud, trying to prove he's not lying.

"…and how do you know that?"

Mario stepped forward, "Because your _zio_ registered _woman _as current ID of unknown Nintendo character found."

"W—well," Hunt stammered as the other Nintendo characters laughed along to Hunt's nervousness, "we… _really_ don't know who she is right now, okay? She could be attractive. And I get nervous around attractive ladies."

"Or she could be Cackletta." Peach said sweetly, and the group laughed out loud. Pit wiped a tear off his eyes, "…or Medusa."

The entire MiiVerse exploded with laughter. Jace joined in. Hunt stared around the laughingstock, his face flushed red of humiliation.

"Guys, come on! It's NOT funny!" Hunt stammered, unable to get his voice heard through the flood of amusement.

"Dude," Jace said, "I don't think you need me for discovering the identity of this new Nintendo character. You'll be fine."

"What about Jenn?"

"She'll be fine too." Jace replied, "As long as Noir doesn't make a pass on her."

Hunt hesitated, frowning at the mention of Noir, "Err… Jace?" he asked, "Do you think it's such a good idea to take on Noir's proposal?"

"I know it's risky taking a business trip endorsed by my worst enemy; but whatever this guy is up to, I'll make sure I'm one step ahead of him."

"We've finally identified our target!" the voice of Samus caught the Nintendo characters' attention. Hunt briefly glanced back before returning to Jace, "I gotta go. Be careful man!"

Jace ended the conversation with a chlick and a wink. (_A/N: look up chlick under Urban dictionary_) Hunt pressed the screen and it went black. He ran to join Samus. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Pit, Fox, Falco, Kirby and Pikachu stood before Samus and Dr. Dimentio.

"So… who is she?" Fox asked calmly.

"Maybe it's Krystal." Falco teased, and Pikachu agreed with a nod, "Pika. Pika." Fox blushed.

"I bet it's Cackletta." Luigi muttered.

"You always believe it's-a Cackletta." Mario said and Kirby agreed with a cooing sound.

"This time I'm-a confident!" Luigi said.

"It's actually her." Samus pointed at the large screen hovering before them. Green flowing hair, white shimmering gown, and equipped with a shield and a staff. Almost the entire group didn't know who she was, but Pit did.

"Lady Palutena?" he gasped her name and all eyes turned to him.

"You know her?" Peach asked.

"She's my goddess!" Pit exclaimed, "Back in Skyworld!" he turned to Samus and Dr. Dimentio, "WHERE IS SHE?"

"She's currently at the University hospital. Presbyterian." Dr. Dimentio said, "She was injured in a car accident. Like a year ago."

"Car accident—?" Pit's eyes widened, "A year ago?! Was that car another monster?!"

"What? N-no Pit!" the doctor said, shaking his head, "It's a—!"

Pit sped out in a mad dash, "I'M COMING FOR YOU, LADY PALUTENNAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" his scream filled the entire MiiVerse. Soon they could hear faint car swerving, crashing, and honking from a distance.

"I've had a bad feeling the auto insurance won't sleep tonight." Hunt said to Dr. Dimentio and the Nintendo characters.

Then another screeching of a car was heard and a loud bang followed.

"…or any other nights."

**xXx**

The door to the private jet shifted open, allowing Jace outside to gaze at the mass private plane runway of Heathrow Airport. A blast of arctic air speared through his flannel shirt and prickled along his tan skin. The wind forced his black spiky hair to one side, unable to stand still. His olive eyes trickled a few tears as he tried to gaze over the hazy fog at a group of people in business suits waiting for him down the jet's stairs.

His iPhone buzzed on his pocket and Jace hurryingly shoved his fingers down for it. He winced as the frostbitten fingers stung on contact to his jeans' fabric. He finally pulled the iPhone and examined the screen: FaceTime with Noir Deroi!

He slid the arrow icon across the screen and Noir's face came up. His suave grin never left his face.

"Told you to bring a coat." Noir said, sporting a ruby red wool housecoat. He was on his Louis XIV chair with a hot cup of cocoa cusped to his toasty hands. The fire in the fireplace was crackling in the background.

"I thought you were joking." Jace's teeth clattered angrily, feeling taunted by Noir's current home comfort.

"I never joke about the brutal weather of London, England." Noir replied, "But you of all people should've known that."

Jace descended down the stairs as Noir went on, "Anyway, I'd like you to meet… the League of Video Gaming Legends."

The fog cleared up before Jace. Once Jace could identify the faces behind the suits, he froze up like an icicle.

Stefano 'Signore' Vermichello stood right at the center of a group of businessmen, with a boy a bit older than Jace.

The business suits people all sported dark sunglasses and had their hands behind their backs like they were from the Secret Service. The boy next to Stefano was around 5 feet, skinny, had short black hair and brown eyes and sported a cape and a large grey glove with buttons and wires coiling around it arms like a robot.

"_Salud, _Jacen." The Signore smirked, "Remember me?"

"Uhhhhhhh…" Jace hesitated, taking a step back toward the jet again until he felt two shadows behind his back. He whizzed around and there were two more of these business suits guys, only this time they were Donkey Kongs and in Polygon-shaped: Fighting Polygon Teams!

"Why, don't-a be afraid of us, young man." The Signore laughed, "We're only here to help." He then turned serious, "Actually, _you _are here to help."

Jace slowly approached the group until he was inches before the Signore and his group.

"Now, Jacen. I'd like you to meet my other members of the League of Legendary Gamers." The Signore said.

The boy rolled his eyes and turned to the Signore, "Signore, for the last time, it'sLeague of _Video Gaming Legends._"

The Signore rolled his eyes also and dismissively tossed his hand, "Whatever." He pointed at the boy, "Signor smarty-trousers here is my godson, Ryan Somith, famous gamer and hacker alive. Ryan, this is Signor Jacen Riders. You'd probably know him as—!"

"...the guy who stole that Nintendo 3DS prototype and brought all the magic of Nintendo to life?" Ryan offered his hand to Jace for a handshake, "Who wouldn't know him?" he smirked "He's famous. Even on the playground."

Jace frowned at that last statement, then quickly dismissed it with a tense laugh, "Hey, I guess I'm that guy." He shook Ryan's hand, "It's nice to meet you man."

Ryan just smirked.

"Could you… excuse me for one second?" Jace said with teeth clenched and a fist curled around his iPhone, "I have a business boy to bankrupt."

He turned around and angrily hissed at Noir, "You tricked me, you _bakayaru_!"

"What?" Noir said innocently, "Now why would I trick you? They _are_ the real deal. Stefano? If you can hear me, tell this nincompoop that you're the real deal."

"You should probably know Mr. Jacen," the Signore said, "that I own about 300 stocks and bonds from 300 different companies. And one of them is this League. So I happen to be a very successful investor and key member too."

"And I, godson, happens to be a key investor also thanks to my _hack_-full power of persuasion."

"You mean threat," muttered the Signore.

"Whatever, _Signore_."

"Okay, so what do you want from me, Signore?" Jace asked, almost desperately, "You want your 3DS back, is that it?"

The Signore laughed, "On the contrary, Mr. Jacen." He approached Jace and placed a hand on his shoulder, "we need your help. It's a matter of life and death."

Jace swallowed hard.

**xxx**

"Lady Palutena?!"

Pit's voice echoed across the hospital, catching doctors, nurses and patients' attention. Then Pit zipped past them, leaving a powerful gust of wind that blew all paperwork, ripped doctors' coats and lifted nurse skirts and patients' robes at the same time. There were screaming involved.

"LADY PALUTEN—!"

Pit froze midway after crossing a room and turned back to it. There was a doctor in his 30s with faded gray sideburns on his jet black hair, and a dark-haired Asian nurse standing before Palutena, floating in a standing position by the windows overlooking the city. A glowing radiance overwhelmed the layers of the goddess's body.

"She's just… standing there. I mean…" the nurse turned to the doctor, "…floating there for the past two hours."

"That's quite disturbing." The doctor replied, "Do you think it's some sort of… craziness?"

"Doctor I'd be crazy for not waking up from this dream."

"Would you mind talking to yourself in low volume for like five minutes?" Palutena muttered, glaring with one eye open fixed on the nurse and doctor, "I'm trying to meditate."

The doctor and nurse glared at each other before facing Palutena, "Meditate?" the doctor asked, "Meditate to whom?"

"Lady Palutena!" Pit entered the room. The doctor and nurse turned to his attention. Palutena's face lit up. "Pit!"

The goddess slowly descended to solid ground and she stopped glowing. She moved past the doctor and nurse and embraced Pit, "Oh, Pit! I'm so glad I've finally found you!"

"And I you, my lady!" Pit said, "But you're chocking me!"

Palutena let go off Pit and peered into his blue eyes, "Sorry. Come on, we should leave this place." She turned to stare at the doctor and nurse, "Mortals here keep staring at me like I'm crazy. Obviously they're the crazy ones. What's with the attire and the… not-so-animated look? They're everywhere!" she turned to Pit, "and they make fun of me when I plead to them that I'm their goddess!"

Right on cue, Mario, Link, Samus, Hunt and Dr. Dimentio came in, as Pit responded with a sadden look on his face, "Palutena… you're not a goddess anymore." He quickly added, noticing Pal's grim face, "At least not in this world!"

"What? What do you mean I'm not a goddess anymore?" she angrily wheeled to the doctor and nurse, "Did anyone of you have something to do with this?"

The doctor hesitated as Palutena pointed a stern finger at them, "I know you did!" she turned back to Pit and the other Nintendo characters, "They were putting sharp stuffs in my shiny goddess body and pumping some sort of vile potion they called saline. It was HORRIBLE! I've been in this place for almost a year, EXPERIMENTING ME!"

The doctor couldn't help but smile as he turned to the nurse, "It was a pretty good experiment." The nurse nodded in agreement.

"Have you no shame doctor?" Dimentio snarled at the doctor, "Experimenting on a human?! You could have your medical license revoked!" he then pointed at the nurse, "And so could you!" he hissed.

"She clearly isn't human." The doctor protested, "And neither are all of you! You're all cartoons," he paused, noticing Mario, "…or video game characters? Is that Mario?!"

Mario waved cheerfully at the doctor and nurse. "Hi Mario!" the nurse cheerfully squealed, waving back.

"HEY!" Palutena snapped, "_I_ am a goddess! And I'll prove it to you!" she stepped to the center of the room and clasped both hands together and slowly pulled them apart, creating an electric ball surging and growing, "I'll summon my trusty Palutena's Mirror and by gazing upon it you'll see your true reflection! Palutena's Mirror? Come out!"

She shot her arms up to the sky and the ball exploded into a mere spark. Silence befell the group.

A stunned gasp left the goddess's lips. She lowered her hands and stared at them. There was no mirror on sight.

"What…" she muttered, "how…"

"Looking for this?"

All eyes turned to the doctor. He pulled out from his back, as if by magic, a huge mirror with a gold frame with carved wings to its borders. The group's gaze drifted from the mirror to the doctor in confusion and disbelief.

"What the hell?" Hunt stepped forward just as the doctor pulled out a Nintendo Zapper from under his white coat. Hunt froze in place and the group gasped at the mere sight of the weapon.

"My Mirror!" Palutena shouted. She tried to step forward but the doctor moved his weapon to her, forcing her not to take another step. "Lady Palutena, careful!" Pit warned.

"Careful, my lady Palutena." The doctor said, "You don't want me to use this zapper on you. It's been hacked by _North Street Labs_," a wide grin filled his face, "but I stole it from them to make it better."

Palutena turned uncomfortable, "How did you know my name?" she frowned, "For a year, I've never told you my name."

"Who are you?" Dimentio exclaimed.

"Glad you asked." The doctor handed the mirror to the nurse who couldn't stop staring at the doctor like he was an alien. With one hand he pinched the skin of his neck and tear off his face. The Smash Bros. except the humans screamed in disgust, until the skin and the 30-year old face turned out to be the mask of a younger 20-year old face instead, with short dark hair and brown eyes. He removed his coat to reveal his skinny form, his power glove on the hand not holding the zapper, and a cape.

"A mask…" Dr. Dimentio and Hunt both snarled.

"A creature!" Mario and Link exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Samus asked sternly.

"Ah, Samus. So great to finally meet you." The boy said, "And you Link. And you Mario! Big fan, big fan! Name's Ryan. Y'know… Ryan Somith?"

"One of Nintendo's greatest Gaming Legends." Hunt explained to the group, "He's trying to conquer every leaderboard there is in the video game world and owns almost ALL game consoles out there!"

"And how do you know that?" Link asked.

"Because he used to be my best friend before Jace." Hunt's eye twitched, "Now he's my cold-blooded rival."

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!" Ryan cheered on, "Congratulations, Huntin' Daisy."

"It's _Hunt_."

"And as a reward, I'll be taking this Mirror back to London. Don't wanna keep myself waiting. And no, that's not a figure of speech." He tapped the mirror with his zapper and the mirror revealed another image of Ryan meeting Jace, "I'm currently in London too! Y'know, meeting your _BFF_?"

Hunt's jaws dropped, "What?"

All stared in shock at the image in the mirror and then back at Ryan. He was in two places at once! How is that possible?

"HEY! That's my mirror!" Palutena shouted, "You don't mess with a goddess's mirror!"

"I'll handle it my lady!" Pit summoned his twin blades and stepped before the faux doctor and nurse. Ryan pulled the trigger on his zapper and a light laser shot, grazed past Pit's hair and past the heroes. All ducked down, screaming.

Ryan grabbed the mirror from the nurse, "Thanks for the mirror, Nurse!" he pulled her into a juicy kiss and leapt out the window with the mirror. All screamed at the sight of him plummeting down the earth, then they watched him fly back to the air with metallic-shaped wings on his back. He flew into the skies.

"My mirror!" Palutena screamed.

"After him!" Mario ordered and the Smash Bros. all leapt out the window.

Mario pulled out his golden cape and into the skies he went. Link blew whistle on his finger and a loftwing shot out of nowhere and whisked him away. Samus swung across building with her grappling hook until she landed into the top of a building where her spaceship was waiting. She hopped into it and took flight.

Hunt tried to leap out the window also but Dimentio grabbed him by the shoulder, "HAA! Stop! Are you crazy? You gonna get yourself killed!"

Hunt looked down at the 400 feet drop, then back at Dimentio, "…yeah, bad idea." He moved away from the window.

**xxx**

Ryan spotted Mario flying behind him over the city skies. He swerved and swayed past the skyscrapers, trying to lose his predator; but the plumber was still hot on his trail.

"Don't lose him Mario!" shouted Link from his loftwing. The two characters flew side-by-side. Ryan knew he was in trouble if he didn't move fast. He pulled out his zapper, turned around and shot at Mario, piercing his cape.

Mario screamed, watching his cape yank him down to a deathly plunge. Link's loftwing screamed in panic as he swerved out of the way to avoid getting struck by another bullet shot from Ryan.

"Mario!" Link shouted.

He then looked up, staring at Ryan aiming his zapper at him. He unsheathed his sword and raised it up high. Its sharp blade emitted a bright glow.

Ryan fired more bullets but the loftwing managed to dodge them all. Link's sword suddenly glittered, giving Ryan the sign that Link's attack is fully charged. He quickly put away his zapper as he struggled at holding on to the mirror with one hand.

"HIYAA!" Link swung down his sword and a crescent-shaped beam left the blade and sped toward Ryan. Ryan turned around with the mirror held with both hands. The beam struck the mirror and reflected, heading straight for Link and struck the bird. The loftwing and Link plummeted down the earth, screaming.

Ryan continued his flight until he reached the Empire State. Samus's Spaceship flew before him, blocking his path. Samus summoned a laser from under the ship. Power surged from the laser's tip until a powerful laser shot from it, straight for Ryan. Ryan vanished and the laser struck a building. People were heard screaming from the building.

Ryan reappeared, floating above Samus's spaceship as Samus looked around for her enemy.

Ryan looked down to Samus by the window, "Cuckoo."

Samus jumped back. Ryan threw a punch with his power glove, through the window and struck Samus hard, knocking her out.

Then a huge fireball took over the ship, lighting up the city skies and Ryan departed from it with the mirror, leaving behind a body plummeting down the earth from the explosion. People were still heard screaming but soon came the sound of sirens.

**xXx**

_Now, here's your latest news report. Once again, the Nintendo cast is making headlines as they have taken on a rogue bandit who apparently stole a magical mirror belonging to a famous goddess from one of Nintendo's video game Kid Icarus. The theft resulted in a rather short explosive battle between the rogue, Mario, Link, and Samus. The explosion of course affected one of the buildings, but luckily there were no casualties. And our characters are also reported to be okay. Now back to you. _

**xXx**

A taped crime scene circled around a corner of 4th Street. A few paramedics circled around a slightly wounded Mario sitting inside an ambulance. Veterinarians were there for Link's loftwing. Link patted the groaning bird's head in comfort. A nurse tried to put gauze on Samus's arm but she flinched in pain. Samus's armor was completely destroyed, but the spaceship warrior was on her blue suit which was luckily undamaged.

"Sorry." The nurse said sympathetically to her.

"Tsk." Samus uttered, "Never thought we'd be fighting one of the players who actually admired us. Some admiration we got."

"It's all my fault." Palutena said with her head down. She was nearby with Pit, Hunt and Dr. Dimentio. "If only I knew that doctor was an impostor, I would've done something."

"Please Palutena, don't beat yourself up!" Pit said to the goddess. "You were too shocked about the situation you were in."

"Yeah." She grumbled, "Shocked. For a YEAR! This place was not my Skyworld. People were weird where they held me. They fed me some… tasteless food… and I didn't know how to contact you for help!"

One of the police officers approached Palutena with a pen and a small pad, "…and how long were you in the hospital?" he asked, "Sorry for being upfront. It's police procedure."

"Well…" Palutena began, "It's been a year."

The officer nodded, "Mm-mhm. And was the hospital a mental institution or something? Cuz you look like… not from around here with the goddess speech."

Palutena scoffed. Pit was about to say something mean to the officer in Palutena's defense when Hunt interrupted, "Excuse me, officer. I think you should speak to me. I know the suspect."

The officer turned to Hunt's direction, and soon Dimentio turned to his attention also.

"Yeah, I want to hear how you have another best friend before my _nipote_?" Dimentio sternly said to Hunt, and soon all eyes turned to the young geek. "You know it'll crush him right?"

Hunt sighed, "Ryan is not my best friend! Well, not anymore after what he did to me."

All eyes were exchanged before turning back to Hunt. "And what did he do to you?" Mario asked.

Hunt's face tightened. He felt a tear was about to be shed. He quickly looked away, wiped the tear away and sniffled, "I don't wanna talk about it. The memory is too painful. Long story short, Jace rescued me. I was with Jace for a while for protection throughout that time. But we eventually became fast friends."

He turned back to the police officer, "But this Ryan… he's cold and calculated. I am actually shocked that he's part of the League of Video Gaming Legends! It's been my dream to be part of that League!"

"So he's part of the League of Video Gaming Legends?" the officer asked and Hunt nodded. The officer paused, "Well… we know the League is based in London now. So he must be headed that way… or hiding somewhere else in the state. And his name is Ryan Somith right? We'll put an APB on him."

"Don't bother, officer." Link said, "He has a _double_ in London."

The officer's eyes widened in shock, "Excuse me?"

"Oh my gosh, yeah!" exclaimed Hunt, "He showed it to us through Palutena's Mirror!"

"…which I need back!" Palutena exclaimed.

"I'm warning Jace." Dimentio offered and went for his phone, stepping out.

Palutena turned to the officer, "Sir authority guy, sir… you've gotta get to this Ryan boy and take my mirror back!" she grabbed the officer by the shoulder, "It's a matter of life and death!"

The officer stared at the hands of the goddess on his shoulders, before turning to the goddess. He briefly blushed but then quickly shook his head, "uh…please let go off me, goddess."

Palutena let go off the officer, "Sorry. But if that mirror falls into the wrong hands, it'll spell disaster!"

"What disaster?"

"_THAT _disaster!" a strong female godly voice filled the city skies. The clouds all turned red and black and moved together to form Medusa's face. The snakes danced on her head. All heads turned to Medusa. People nearby screamed in panic and spread out like ants before a fire.

"Medusa!" Pit shouted.

"Hello Pit. And hello to you too, Palutena." Medusa greeted, "By the way, thank you for allowing Ryan to hand me your Mirror. I truly appreciate it."

"I didn't hand you my mirror you reptilian wighead!" Palutena hissed, "You had your henchman _stole_ it from me!"

"…yeah. A team effort, was it? By the way, I'm gonna use it for a while and then I'll bring it back to you… in pieces."

Palutena gasped.

"What do you plan on doing with the Mirror?" Mario shouted at the dark queen. She turned to him, then gazed past Link and Samus, "Hm? Well, who's this? If it isn't Mario and Link and Samus all together. Where are the others?"

"None of your business!" Hunt shouted, "Just tell us what you plan on doing with the mirror?!"

Medusa glared back at Hunt. Hunt cowered, "…p-please? Your dark Majesty, ma'am."

"What a weird kid you are. And so are your people in this world." She gazed, staring at everybody's live-action forms, "What skin are you wearing?"

She shook her head and threw a dismissive hand, "Anyway I don't care, you'll be gone anyway. Thanks to my all-mighty, all-powerful beast I've summoned."

"Wh-what beast?" Pit stammered.

"You've heard of the Freakish, yes?" Medusa asked, "Well, it's coming your way soon. But if you want more info about it, come and meet me at that tower over there!" she pointed at a tower with a weird hexagon shape and had a large antenna to the farthest side of the city. Hunt, Dimentio, and the people there immediately recognized the building. "Freedom Tower…" Hunt breathed.

"But you better come soon, or I'll start to decimate your kind!" Medusa vanished in a puff of clouds, leaving behind a cold trail of laughter.

"What is a Freakish?!" Pit screamed to the skies, "You're not getting away with this, Medusa!"

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xXx**

"A Freakish?" Luigi's scream filled the entire MiiVerse, which was now filled with Nintendo characters in panic. Palutena was pacing back and forth, and Pit, Mario, and Samus among the others helplessly watched her and Luigi freaking out.

"What's a Freakish?! Is it a ghost? Is it dangerous?!" Luigi turned to Falco, "What in mustached mushroom is a Freakish?!"

"I dunno; I was hoping you would tell me." Falco sarcastically replied, "Since you've traveled to so many mansions."

"This isn't-a funny!" Luigi snapped.

"Luigi is right." Palutena replied, "This Freakish may be a very dangerous entity and we need to do some time-constrained research to find out just what that creature is supposed to be."

"Don't-a worry Lady Palutena." Mario said to the goddess, "Hunt and Dr. Dimentio will find a way to contact Jace and warn him of the impending danger. He could help us! He is the White Knight!"

"Okay… and just how are we supposed to do that?" Dimentio asked, "We can't just tell him that some nasty creature called the Freakish is out for our blood! He's miles away from here!"

Peach and Zelda approached the tense group. They briefly exchanged glances at one another then a smile and an exclaimed gasp broke from Peach's lips, "OOOH! I know!" she said, turning back to the group, "Why don't you have one of us go to London? Or better yet, BOTH of us?"

"WHAAT?!" The characters gasped.

Link scurried to Zelda's side, and Mario and Luigi went to Peach's side, "B-but Zelda! We can't risk putting you in danger! Not after what happened with Ganondorf!"

"Link, we'll be fine." Zelda said.

"Oh yeah, now! But what about later?" Luigi argued.

"But no one would suspect us." Peach argued back.

"You're princesses." Hunt stated, "From the Nintendo world. _Prone_ to get kidnapped any second. So yeah, there _will_ be suspicions!"

"Oh come on, everybody!" Peach begged, "We'll be careful!"

"We'll just find the White Knight and bring him to—!"

"NOO!" all the characters shouted, their loud protest filled the Miiverse, rudely interrupting Zelda.

Peach scoffed and crossed her arms, pouting. Zelda sighed, frowning in defeat.

"Okay, so how are you exactly gonna get to Jace without endangering us then?" Zelda asked. "Any ideas?"

"Ah, princesses." The voice of Toadsworth caught their attention. The mustached steward flounced toward them with a giddy smile, "Have you seen the latest issue of Travel magazine? Apparently Europe is supposed to be very beautiful this time of year. Perfect place to meet with all other stewards like me wouldn't you say?"

There was a short silence. All exchanged glances at one another, with smiles and with one accord.

**xXx**

-**London, England**-

"Jacen Riders. There's someone we want you to find."

Stefano sat before a large round executive table with Ryan by his side and the rest of the Legends members. "It's a dragon called the Lame One."

Jace furrowed his brow, "Lame One?"

"The Lame One is a powerful sage," explained the Signore, "A wise great serpent from ancient past, always ready to lend its strength to the famed White Knight."

The League of Video Gaming Legends was in a fancy boardroom. Behind the large round executive table were widescreen windows projecting a breathtaking view of the English city. The Big Ben was spotted to the east. London Eye was across the bridge from the tower. A couple of palaces were barely visible at the other side.

Stefano snapped his fingers and Ryan stepped forward with Palutena's Mirror. The mirror displayed an ancient drawing of a flying dragon and a knight in a white armor riding on top of it. Both entities were suspended over a sea of trees, mountains and waters.

Jace chuckled nervously at the sight of the dragon, a huge lump was clung on his throat, "This is… big…"

"Don't worry about it," Ryan reassured, "Right now the serpent is in baby form and its wings are like sugarplum fairies. So you should be fine."

Jace tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but he could tell he wasn't okay with it, "Right." He forced a faint smile, "Because I don't do well with snakes. They're my biggest…" he breathed again, this time louder, "…baddest fears."

"Well, he does evolve into a dragon." Stefano went on, "And he could also be the key to restoring Nintendo World from the curse I've been hearing so much about."

Jace looked up from the mirror and to Stefano, "A curse?"

"Yes. That which is called 3rd Dimensional Curse. It got inflicted when the 3rd Dimensional Sphere was used to terrorize the Nintendo characters. And when its counterpart 3rd Dimensional Screen was used, those who got terrorized by the curse were miraculously rescued and brought here in this world via the 3D screen of the Nintendo 3DS." Stefano replied, "So called 3rd Dimensional Screen."

"You know when you stole that 3DS and summoned the Smash Bros. here?" explained Ryan, "That was you lifting the curse off the characters by transferring them here to New York. By doing that also, you've opened up a haven for the characters."

Master Hand's message quickly flooded back into Jace's mind. "… _JACEN RIDERS… ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE NINTENDO WORLD AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE_…"

"So a curse happened to the Nintendo World. And those responsible are the Nintendo Villains possessing the 3D Sphere…?"

A broad smile came to Jace's face, "So it's not my fault after all!" he exclaimed, "Stealing actually paid off!"

Stefano's face darkened. Jace's smile swiftly vanished, "S-sorry. Minor setback. You were saying?"

"As a savior of the Nintendo World, the White Knight," Stefano went on, "you are not only responsible for saving the Nintendo characters from their curse, but are supposed to help them get rid of that curse that is still currently plaguing their land. There are still more Nintendo characters trapped in the Nintendo World, and knowing their predicament we're here to help you save them. With your help and that of the Lame One."

Ryan rolled his eyes, "Ohh for the love of hacking, do you ever stop talking? When do I get to talk?"

"When I'm good and ready, Ryan." Stefano scolded, "Don't try my patience."

"…so…" Jace muttered, "This Lame One is supposed to help me on my mission?" he blinked, "Why is it called the Lame One anyway? Bad skin? Surgery gone bad?" He laughed.

"I dunno. I don't play video games. I only own stocks." Stefano mumbled.

"But I do!" Ryan shoved Palutena's Mirror to Stefano's hands and walked to Jace, "I can give you some tips and tricks on literally finding the Lame One. Just follow this map right here on my smartphone and before you reach the London Tower, I'll call you. And don't worry about the serpent."

Ryan pulled out his smartphone—a _Samsung Galaxy SIII_—and handed it to Jace. Jace examined the picture and held a sharp breath at its sight, "It's a picture… of London's map… in MiiVerse?"

He gazed back at Ryan with a broad smile, "You have a WiiU?"

"Dude, you're speaking to the one who owns all video game consoles on the planet since his diaper years. Of course I own a WiiU. Now, are you gonna get in the game and find that Lame One for us? It awaits you at the London Tower."

Jace stuffed the phone down his pocket, "Buddy," he confidently patted Ryan's shoulder, "I won't let you down." He then turned to Stefano with two pointed fingers at him, "And you sir won't be disappointed!"

He rushed out of the building.

Finally he got out into the city street and approached his brand-new sportsbike Noir gave him.

Then he stopped, stunned and taken aback by who he saw instead, tied up to the bike, muffling through the duct tape over his mouth. "Toadsworth?"

He rushed to him, pulled the rope off the mushroom steward and the duct tape off his mouth. Toadsworth gasped; his breath shallow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "You're supposed to be with the others back in New York."

"Yeah!" Toadsworth barked, "In my spare time apparently! But that's not what they want. They want to ship me to Europe to I dunno… protect you!"

Jace cocked his head curiously, "Why?"

"Because they're crazy about you, that's why!" Toadsworth shook his head, banishing the angry thought, "No wait. It's actually to warn you… or… to get you back…" the Toad steward grinned, "I have to apologize in advance. My brain is not functioning properly due to all of that excitement of being a one-day shipment!"

Jace picked up his bike helmet and strapped it over his head, "Don't worry, Sir. You're safe with me. Hey, let's go on a trip while you try to refresh your memory." Jace hopped on his sportsbike.

Toadsworth shuffled to him nervously, "Hey, uh… wh-where're we going? Big Ben? London Tower? Does this thing have a seatbelt?"

"No, no, and uh…" Jace winked, "just hold on to me."

"Wh-what?" Toadsworth turned pale. Before he could protest, Jace already revved up the bike and it pulled away from the building into the London streets in a mad street dash. The steward's scream filled the chilly London air.

**xxx**

Back at the League of Video Gaming Legends Bureau,

"Everything is going according to plan, Medusa." Ryan said, still staring over the direction where Jace exited the building.

Stefano raised an eyebrow, "Medusa?" his Italian accent turned rough, "There's no female here, Ryan." He looked around, "Who is this Medusa you speak o—!"

His voice came up short and held his breath. The Underworld goddess emerged out from a corner and approached the League. Then from another corner came out Bowser, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, and Dedede. They appeared eerily silent with eyes as sharp like cats and glittering pure gold as if possessed.

"You've done exceedingly well, Somitheus." Medusa complimented.

"It's Somith." Ryan corrected.

Ganondorf threateningly towered over Ryan, casting his shadow over him. Ryan turned around. "When your name is addressed as Somitheus by Her Majesty, it's Somitheus. Got it?"

Ryan glared back with narrowed eyes.

"It's okay Ganondorf." Medusa said with a gentle yet sharp tone, "He may be new, but he has a spine of steel."

The villains approached the other members of the League. The members quickly stood up and went for their weapons concealed under their tux. Bowser breathed in and shot a blast of fire at one member, scorching him till he turned to dust of charcoal. Ganondorf threw a heavy backfist across the jaws of another member, sending him crashing through the window to a deathly drop. Mewtwo grappled on another member's face and dark smoke slowly filled in the member's body, intoxicating him till his body turned limp. Dedede repeatedly body-slammed another one with his butt.

Stefano instinctively reached up to cover his face in disgust, with one arm wrapped around his chest. The Nintendo villains finally went for their new seats.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stefano barked, "To think that animated characters could actually kill human beings? That is unfathomable! _Insondabile!"_

_Unfathomable_ in Italian.

"It's more than that, Stefano." Ryan said, "It's real."

"I must thank you so much, my dear _Signore_ Vermichello," Medusa began as she wormed her way to seat in the middle of the table, "for giving me and my colleagues a chance to seat with you at the League of Video Gaming Legends Lounge here in this fine world you call…the United Kingdom? How _united _are those kingdoms anyway? Is Palutena's kingdom part of it? Because I've put an appraisal on it."

"It's pathetic." Bowser rudely commented, only to meet Medusa's cold gaze again. His smile came back anew, only broadened, "Pathetically exquisite for your taste."

Medusa turned back to Ryan, "Somitheus. You have the Mirror right?"

Ryan handed the mirror to Medusa. "What do you need a mirror for?" Stefano asked.

"For summoning." Medusa said.

"Summoning?" Stefano raised an eyebrow, "Like evil spirits?"

Medusa cackled and the villains joined in the laughter.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! You silly Cappy!" Dedede laughed, "Evil spirits are so yesterday!"

"…so last Century." Mewtwo muttered.

"We're talking about the Freakish here you bum!" Ganondorf barked.

"What?" Stefano raised an eyebrow.

"You know when we told Jace that the Lame One was a wise ancient serpent?" Ryan said, "That it was in baby form and all that mumbo-jumbo? …yeah, we lied. There's no such thing as the Lame One."

Medusa waved her hand over the mirror and it displayed the Freakish: an anaconda with the scaly skin of a python and the size of six skyscrapers glued together. Its eyes were sharp and dark-blue like the midnight sky; fierce and sharp and gripping enough that anyone who gazed upon them would die of a petrifying fear. Its jaws unhinged, revealing the fangs of a mountain lion and shark combined, enough to make a grown wrestler man cry. Its ferocious roar violently shook the mirror, as if the beast was trapped inside it.

Stefano's eyes widened. He couldn't look away. He knew only that he did not ever want to cross path with that beast even if the opportunity presented itself.

"Well…" his voice trembled, "…you were right about it being a serpent."

Medusa moved toward the mirror and Stefano quickly pulled away from the beast's grip. He furiously turned to Ryan, "Are you mad?!" he barked, "I've thought you to be conniving and heartless, not conniving and heartless and _sick!_"

Ryan shrugged nonchalantly. "It's for the Smash Brothers." A grin broadened, "If they can handle the monstrous forms of the villains, like Ugly Giga Bowser or Pig-headed Ganon or Skinny Mewtwo and Dedede with one eye on his stomach, why not this?"

Bowser, Ganondorf and Mewtwo exchanged offended glances before turning to Medusa. Medusa just shrugged in agreement, "He's got a point, I'm the beautiful one."

Ryan chortled, "Sure you are, Miss Cyclops 2012."

Medusa glared. The snakes on her head hissed loudly and snapped their venomous jaws at the young villain with hate.

The Signore sighed, "…guess the student has become the master."

**xxx**

Back in New York City, our heroes and Nintendo characters Pit, Palutena, Fox and Falco were at Church St. The characters gazed at the new Freedom Tower and the site where the World Trade Center used to stand.

"He's still not picking up his phone!" Dimentio sighed in defeat. This was his fifteenth time trying to reach Jace's phone but to no avail. He hung up the phone and turned to Hunt. "Any sign of Jenn?"

"Her phone keeps sending me to voicemail." Hunt sighed. "I just hope Toadsworth was able to warn Jace of the danger ahead."

"I could try calling Viridi." Palutena proposed. She stepped off the curb into the busy streets before Pit, Fox and Falco could stop her. "Wait it's not going to—!"

"VIRIDIII!" She shouted to the skies, catching only the attention of bystanders near and far, "Viridi! Can you hear me? We need your help!"

The bystanders chortled and sniggered.

"Medusa has stolen my Mirror and I need you to help us out! Can you lend us your forces of Nature? We'd truly appreciate it!"

Dimentio and Hunt covered their faces with their hands in shame as the city crowd laughed in reply to Palutena's plea.

Palutena's frown creased, looking ready to cry. She quickly returned to her group.

"Gee, even for a goddess, you lose respect pretty quick." Falco said.

"Falco!" Fox groaned, annoyed by the put-down. Falco shrugged, "What? It's the truth!"

"It's ringing!" Hunt exclaimed, still on his phone. All heads turned to him. "You got Jace?" asked Dimentio.

"No, Jenn! She should be picking up her phone."

A brief silence fell in the group then…

"Hello?" Jenn's moaning voice was heard.

"Jenn!" Hunt exclaimed, "Listen up! We got a problem."

"Who is this?" Jenn's voice almost came out a giggle.

Hunt frowned, "It's Hunt. Where are you? You sound weird."

"No I don't!"

"Yes. You do. Are you drunk?"

Dimentio turned to Hunt, "WHAT?!" He snatched the phone from him and barked, "Jennifer Ortega Dimentio! You BETTER not get drunk on a school night!"

"Dad, I'm not drunk…" Her voice suddenly slurred out a weird Australian accent.

"Then why do you speak like an Australian?"

Jenn was lying half naked on her stomach. A white sheet covered her body as a masseuse was working on her back. "I'm having a massage here." She muttered to the phone, "A really…reaaaaaally…DEEP…tissue massage."

The heroes briefly looked at each other.

"Noir arranged it for the two of us for our first date. Isn't he romantic? Ohhh it feels so goooood…"

**xxx**

Medusa pulled out from under her robe the 3rd Dimensional Sphere. Its midnight shine filled the boardroom with sheer brilliance. "Somitheus, the Mirror."

Ryan took the mirror from Medusa and stepped back, aiming its reflection at her. The villains patiently watched.

Medusa tossed the sphere into the air and swung her staff across, striking it like a baseball. The sphere plunged into the mirror like a stone to a body of water and the scream of the Freakish filled the Boardroom in agony. The mirror glowed gold and rippled on contact. Then a brilliant flood of light shot out of the mirror startling the villains. The mirror glasses flew from its frames as if in pieces.

"Yeah… I'm not investing on a company that plans a mass murder on its creations." Stefano turned around, "I'm out of here."

"Where are you going, Signore?" Medusa stepped in front of him as if by teleportation. Stefano froze. Medusa raised her staff over to his face and her sharp eyes glittered, "…we were just getting started. The _fun _is just getting started."

Stefano stared back into her gaze. His head moved and swayed briefly as if in a trance.

**xxx**

Back in New York, an explosion suddenly slammed the city ground. Skyscrapers windows blew out on contact and glasses were shattered, raining on surprised citizens.

Force and wind knocked stunned bystanders across the street to the floor. The earth split up and Dimentio plummeted into the abyss. Hunt dropped his phone and grabbed the screaming engineer by the wrist, hanging onto him. The surprised characters all tried to stay on balance as the earth continued to rock. The entire city evacuated and thousand sped out with sheer panic like ants.

"Could this be the Freakish?!" Fox exclaimed.

"I hope it's not!" Pit exclaimed.

The pounding of the ground weakened till it stopped just as the skies darkened again and the clouds morphed to reveal Medusa's gigantic shape. "Why, hello again my pests." She greeted.

"Medusa!" Pit shouted just as Hunt, Fox and Falco pulled Dimentio out of the split earth to safety.

"Got a little surprise for ya!" The Underworld queen said.

The image of the Freakish hovered over Medusa like a spirit. The gang could only decipher his dark shadow. The beast roared again. Citizens continued to flee, tearing up and running for the best place to hide.

"Behold! The Freakish." Medusa said, "Unfortunately for you it's recovering from its thousand-year old sleep far from here. So I can't terrorize you with it yet. But give it time. Soon you won't be able to save anyone. Everyone including you two Palutena and Pit will be doomed to an eternity of Hell!"

Her godly form and that of the Freakish vanished from the clouds and Pit immediately took off into the skies, "MEDUSA!" he screamed.

"FLY, Pit!" Palutena ordered, and Pit's feeble wings grew twice its size. Pit then took off into the skies.

"That Freakish can only be summoned through that Mirror!" Palutena explained, "Medusa must be defeated and the Mirror must be retrieved before the Freakish can fully recover and terrorize the entire city!"

The entire crowd of New York watched Pit depart toward the Freedom Tower. But then an army of Monoeyes, Micks, and Specknoses morphed before him, filling up the city skies like fighter aircrafts.

The specknoses sneezed out bombs into the streets, igniting explosions everywhere and driving citizens into a frenzied panic. A spotted Mick threw a tongue slap at a window washer of one of the skyscrapers, almost launching him a thousand feet to the ground. A monoeye zipped past drivers and launched an attack ball to a taxi, sending it flying.

Shemums shot out of manholes cornering businessmen and builders. Octos vomited smokescreens, blinding teens and young adults. Reapers and Reapettes came out of buildings' glasses, chasing after women and children. The sudden Underworld army was growing unexpectedly.

"Where are these creatures all coming from?" Dimentio screamed before a Komayto grabbed him by the head from behind and started pulling on it. "HEEY!"

"Medusa." Hunt exclaimed, swinging aimlessly at more taunting Komaytoes. Monoeyes and Micks were watching nearby. Fox and Falco pulled out their laser gun and shot them down. "Come on!" Fox shouted at Falco and took off. Falco followed, "Right behind ya!"

Fox and Falco found a police car and jumped into it, "Excuse me. Pardon me. Intergalactic freedom fighters coming through." Fox exclaimed, taking the driver's seat.

"Move it!" Falco barked. The cops watched their police car drive down the street at high speed. "We're coming to help you out Pit! Just stay put!" Fox exclaimed through a walkie-talkie.

Pit pulled out his twin blades and swung consecutively at his close army. He then summoned a Sonic Cannon and launched sonic bursts at the faraway enemies. One sonic burst struck a Mick who was about to knock out the dangling window washer. But the impact snapped the cord of the platform. The window washer headed for the ground, screaming.

"Uh-oh!" Pit flew after him and grabbed him by the jacket at the last second. The window washer stared at the ground, breathing heavily, then back at Pit who grinned, "Sorry. Didn't mean to snap the cord."

Pit gently put him down the ground. The washer sighed, "Th-thank you, Pit."

Pit took off for the tower but more Specknoses shot more bombs at him. "WHOA! HEY! What's the big idea?! There are people here!"

But the monsters weren't listening. They continued wreaking havoc. Dimentio tried to keep his head from popping out by the Komayto, but the Komayto kept yanking on it. "OW! OW! AAAOW! CAN ANYONE OF YOU GET THAT BRAIN REMOVER OFF MY OWN BRAIN?!"

Hunt rolled his eyes, "Oh for the love of…" he ran toward Dimentio and the Komayto, "HIII—YAAH!" he struck a leg blow to the Komayto's face. The Komayto finally let go off Dimentio's head and stumbled back with a sharp gasp.

"AYYY—!" Hunt then grabbed the Komayto by the gooey jellyfish-like head and swung it over his shoulder to the concrete street, WAA!"

The Komayto exploded into mini hearts. Hunt turned to the underworld monsters who had taken pause to witness the attack. The terrified citizens stood still also.

"WHAAT?!" Hunt took a threatening step. The monsters quickly dispersed out in panic. The specknoses sped into the skies. The Micks zoomed across the ocean, past the Statue of Liberty, the Shemums jumped back into the manholes, the Octos plumped into nearby pipes and the Reapers and Reapettes hopped back into the building glasses.

Palutena knelt before Dimentio. His neck was like a young tree branch, causing his head to boggle. "Are you okay, sir Dimentio? Here let me heal you." She placed her hand over his head and a warm glow coursed through his neck veins. His neck grew to normal size again and his head stopped boggling.

Dimentio felt his head in place and let out a sigh before turning a dark eye at Hunt, "Next time, Hunt. Rescue me faster with your little Karate! Got it?"

"It's Kung-Fu, but thanks for the advice."

Dimentio then turned to Palutena, "Thanks, lady. But I thought you weren't a goddess anymore."

Palutena shrugged, "I guess I retained _some_ powers somehow."

Medusa laughed again, her dark elegance formed before the Freedom Tower again. She herself towered before the skyscraper and Pit, casting a shadow over them.

"Pit!" Palutena cried out.

"Medusa!" Pit cried out to Medusa.

"WHAT?" Medusa barked.

"Queen of the Underworld hovering before me! It's time for you to atone for your crimes!" he tossed in a few performance moves in the air, "I am Pit, servant of the goddess of light! And you…are—!"

"History?"

Pit paused.

"…yeah. I know your motto. It's getting _really_ old." Medusa muttered.

"Then could you NOT interrupt it next time?!"

"How about you don't interrupt me taking over the world?" Medusa flicked Pit into the sky. Pit screamed as he vanished.

"PIT!" everyone shouted as Medusa laughed. "Who's next?!"

Police sirens were heard. A large squad of police cars and SWAT teams pulled before the Freedom Tower and the enforcers got out with their weapons ready. Helicopters soon hovered before her, buzzing around like pesky little flies.

_We have you completely surrounded. Surrender yourself, creature!_

"Creature?" Medusa sneered, "Who're you calling creature?"

Fox and Falco jumped out of the police car they have hijacked. Then Mario, Luigi and Link followed to join the group.

"You all want to see the true face of a creature? Get ahold of—!" Medusa bent down and stretched up again, "…THIS!"

The crowd gasped and half the population screamed and dispersed in a panic again. Luigi jumped behind Mario and Link in hiding.

"Oh my gosh! Her head!" Dimentio exclaimed.

Medusa frowned in disgust. "Now _this_ is the Medusa I remember."

"…and know and love." Hunt plumped his cheeks as if he's about to puke.

"That's disgusting." Fox cringed, "She's a Cyclops too?" Falco muttered.

Suddenly her body vanished, leaving the head gracefully floating up before making a fast descent toward the citizens.

"A Cyclops with detached head!" Luigi screamed and took off, "RUN AWAAAAY!"

The rest of the crowd took off in a panic, even the police, as the head closed in. Some brave officers tried shooting the approaching head with their loaded guns and AK47s but to no avail. The head launched multiple dark balls at the officers, sending them flying. The snakes on her head turned most of them into statues, and cars stuck in traffic were telepathically launched off the streets, almost striking helpless people. The head zipped past Palutena, Hunt, and Dimentio.

"You're not getting away from this, Medusa!" Palutena barked, "I'm gonna have Pit and my Mirror back whether you like it or NOT!"

"The Freakish!" Hunt exclaimed, "Don't forget stopping the Freakish!"

"Yeah, that too!"

**xxx**

Back in London, England

Jace pulled over before the Tower of London. Stalwart walls circled together with four towers at each corner. Another great wall surrounded the building. Dead trees hung by the outer walls. The tower carried no sign of life, and the cold chill air of the city brought the feeling of venturing into the tower's dark halls worse than before.

Jace removed his helmet and stared at the place, suddenly feeling a sudden bloom of cold across his face. And it wasn't just the wind caressing his tanned structure. He felt his heart racing, but for the sake of his companion Toadsworth, he kept his cool.

"Are we there yet? Did we stop?!"

Jace looked over to the mushroom steward who clung on to his sides like a tree and clattered his teeth like a nutcracker.

Jace couldn't help but laugh. He's never seen Toadsworth like this before... well except in the _Mario and Luigi_ game series and other _Mario_ titles where he has been seen freaking out on several occasions. "Yeah, we're here sir." He said, "London Tower. That's where I'm supposed to meet the Lame One."

He hopped off his bike and put the helmet on the bike's handle. Toadsworth gazed at him like he had lost his mind.

"Do you know what this place is, Sir Jace?" He exclaimed, "This is the notorious London Tower. According to history it is the home of many prisoners, tortured and terrorized for centuries."

"All ancient history." Jace said, trying to dismiss this info.

"Aren't you scared?"

"…maybe a little. But I'm not a chicken."

"You should be!" Toadsworth barked, "And it's not just the prisoners! Legend has it that ravens live here. Ravens are birds of darkness."

"Raphael the Raven?"

"Hellooo! Lives on a Moon! Moon represents darkness!"

Jace turned to Toadsworth, "Don't worry about it Toadsworth. They're just legends, and I only came here to find the Lame One in this castle." The duo crossed the courtyard, "and besides, London legend has it that Ravens protect this tower from collapsing. So they cannot fly away from the tower unless the tower…"

Jace stopped, noticing the courtyard feeling empty and eerie.

"…will collapse." his sentence slowly died.

"What's wrong?"

Jace turned to Toadsworth, now barely silent. Toadsworth immediately bought his silence, "Oh no… the Ravens are gone are they? The Ravens are GONE! WE'RE GONNA BE GONE!"

"WHOA-WHOA-WHOA! No!" Jace grabbed Toadsworth, "Don't jump to conclusions man."

"THEN WHERE ARE THEY?" Toadsworth barked.

"Well…" Jace paused, "they could be in the tower still. I'll tell you what? Why don't you stay here and I'll go find them. I've heard the tower has a Raven king the size of a Golden Eagle. Maybe he can help me find his comrades. And the Lame One."

"Wait! You're going alone by yourself?" Toadsworth barked. Jace was about to cross a door when he turned back to Toadsworth and nodded, "yeah." He paused, "by myself. Don't worry about me. I just want you to stay put and be safe."

"You're awfully resilient, are you?"

"Got that from my father." Without another word he took off.

"Be careful!" Toadsworth shouted out, watching with concern.

**xxx**

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Medusa's Head continued her haunting flight past the citizens, launching dark balls at every street corner and petrifying unfortunate victims.

"Can't you do something?" Hunt barked at Palutena, "You're the Goddess of Light!"

"I wish I could but my powers are limited." Palutena said with a defeated sigh.

"But you just healed me!" Dimentio barked.

"I can't summonmy Mirror back!" Palutena barked. "If I could I would!"

Hunt groaned frustratingly and stuffed his hand down his pocket, "Then you leave me no choice."

"Hunt? What's going—?" Dimentio cut himself short as Hunt pulled out the magical 3DS from his pocket and flicked the portable open, "…wait? What are you doing?" he quickly snatched the portable from his hand, "You can't use this!"

"Hey! Give it back!" Hunt barked.

"No you can't!" Dimentio exclaimed.

"Why not? Jace used it!"

Palutena pointed at the portable the duo fought. "Is that… the 3rd Dimensional Screen?"

"YES!" the duo barked.

"And if we want New York to be saved, it's our only chance at using it!" Hunt exclaimed.

"This device may be for video game, but one missuse of it can be very dangerous!"

"You want the world to fall?"

"No but I'd rather fall from a world by evil then to be fallen by a reckless hero!"

"I'm not a reckless person! I happen to have 4.0 GPA in BOTH HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL!"

Palutena snatched the 3DS from Dimentio's hand and stepped out. "HEEY!" the guys screamed.

"Power Return!" Palutena threw a finger to the touch screen and all of the sudden a powerful circle of light shot from the 3D screen and flooded through the entire city like a powerful gust of wind.

The panic citizens took pause, wondering what just happened. Clueless Mario, Luigi, Link, Fox and Falco gazed at each other.

"Mamamia. What-a just happened?"

Medusa roared in agony. Her giant body regained appearance before the Freedom Tower again and so was her head attached to it. She bent down, hand clutching on her face. "ARRGH! The Pain! The 3rd Dimensional paaaiiin…"

"The solution to all of our problems." Palutena closed the handheld and handed it back to Hunt and Dimentio. "What did you do?" Hunt asked.

"I fully restored everyone's powers. And nullified Medusa's." Palutena said, "Now—!" a hand shot out. Huge chains magically clung to Medusa's legs and neck. "What?!" the Underworld queen hissed.

"Pit! Come on out!" Palutena ordered.

There was a brief quiet in the sky before Pit was heard in reply, shouting, "WITH PLEASURE!" as he zipped past the crowd like a rocket. Pit was sporting the Three Sacred Treasures! The Wings of Pegasus, the Arrow of Light, and the Mirror Shield made him glow with radiance before the stunned crowd and Medusa.

"WHAT?" Medusa barked.

"Medusa! You thought you have defeated me? Well then prepare to think again!" Pit paused, "Oh, wait. It's supposed to be _think _again. Not _preparing_ to think again." He broke the fourth wall, "I should read my lines more."

The Nintendo characters hooted and cheered. "Get 'er, boy!" Falco howled.

"Take that wench down!" Fox shouted.

"For the city!" Link exhaled.

"For everyone!" the Mario brothers hooted and the crowd roared in cheers. Hunt and Dimentio were at a loss of words, amazed by the epic battle unfolding.

"You know what to do Pit." Palutena exclaimed, "Strike her down!"

"You're finished, Medusa!" Pit drew his bow, pulled it and let go off the arrow which flew and plunged right into Medusa's one eye. Medusa grabbed her face and roared in pain. Her body lost shape and quickly she shrunk from taller than building to a regular human size. The dark skies quickly lightened up.

**xxx**

Medusa was back to her regular self when she went down the ground. She looked up. With one eye gouged by the Light arrow, she gazed at the New York crowd, the police enforcers and SWAT Team. Some flashes of light buzzed around her, all coming from strange devices held by these humans. They were temporarily blinding her silly. Flying crafted machines—what they called helicopters—buzzed over her and the many towers encircling her. The shouts of human ordered to stay where she was for she had the right to remain 'silent'… whatever that meant.

It was at that moment that Medusa felt like no goddess. She felt inferior. Worse than these human fleas. And Palutena and Pit towering before her didn't make her feel any better.

"Game over, Medusa." Palutena spoke. She was inches close to her with Pit right next to her, "You lose."

"That's right, Medusa!" Pit taunted, "Looks like the Dominator has become the Dominated!" the flightless angel victoriously pumped a fist in the air. "Oh yeah!"

Palutena stretched out a hand to the Underworld Queen, "My Mirror." She said, "And you better not lie to me that you had it destroyed because I can sense a great amount of light pouring out from that mirror _just _by standing before you."

"tsk." Medusa tutted. She opened up her palm and a bright glowing light orb hovered from above her hand and slowly made its way toward Palutena's hand. The light morphed into Palutena's Mirror. Palutena moved both hands toward it and caught it at the right moment.

"My mirror!" Glitter of happiness danced in her olive eyes as she hugged her precious gold mirror. Pit turned back to Medusa, "Too bad Medusa that we got to defeat you and gotten our Mirror back before you could use it to summon that Freakish of yours. Looks like the Freak has been tamed!"

Medusa slightly chuckled. An uneasy feeling suddenly fell on the group just by the sound of her muted laughter. She slowly stood up. The police and SWAT team alertly aimed their weapons at her.

"What?" Hunt angrily approached Medusa, ignoring the many guns pointed to where he was heading, "What's so funny, you venomous hag? You've been defeated! ACCEPT IT!"

Medusa raised her face up. The snakes on her head hostilely snarled, forcing Hunt to backstep a couple of feet. Her cold grin stunned her mass guests into fear.

"Congratulations." She said, "You've managed to defeat me and get your Mirror back. But you haven't managed to stop the Freakish's recovery. It is now free from its prison."

Palutena's eyes widen in horror. The crowd could only watch with dark anticipation, murmuring words of worries.

"What?" Pit gasped, "What do you mean it's free?!"

"Is it loose in the city?" Hunt asked.

"Is it circling around the skies as we speak?" Pit desperately asked.

Medusa cackled again, turning to the crowd. "No, you silly pesky humans. You've won _this_ round. YOU are all safe."

Her smile vanished and she stared daggers at her enemies, "But is it over? Is it really?"

Her hands suddenly produced a puff of dark-crimson smoke and formed her staff. She struck the staff on the ground and her whole body got engulfed into a screen of crimson clouds. The Police and SWAT team got ordered to shoot and fired their weapons, only the bullets passed right into the clouds. The clouds vanished and Medusa was gone, leaving a trail of cackles behind.

The crowd breathed a sigh of relief, but the Nintendo characters could only wonder.

"She's gone…" Palutena breathed.

"Is it over?" Dimentio barked, "Is it really over? What the hell does she means?!"

**xXx**

Back in London,

Jace stepped into a room. He stopped walking. He stared, ominously, at a rack on one side, a manacle machine on the other side. "What the…?"

He slowly crept forward, "Helloooo?" he called out, only to get an echo. Further down was a huge hole of broken walls which led to stairways. He headed for the stairs when he caught sight of a spiked chair with half a skeleton body on it. A sharp gasp left his throat. Gaping, he slowly approached the chair and examined the skeleton. Its bony wrists were bound to metal cuffs on the chair. Dry blood was left tainted on the side of the chair.

"Was it…?" he slowly gazed over from the spiked chair and the color on his face immediately drained at more skeletons and more machines like closing walls with spikes and a huge hole with a 50-feet drop to a pool of lava, still boiling.

"…a torture chamber?"

_BUUZZZ!_

Jace jumped. Ryan's phone was ringing in his pocket. It was a _Skype_ call from Ryan. Jace breathed an exasperated sigh, quickly pulled out the phone from his pocket and answered.

"Ryan?" he began sternly.

"Hello, Jacen." Ryan replied with a smile, his voice was almost ghastly.

"Dude, you scared me. Like, just now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You sent me to a torture chamber? Are you NUTS?"

"I guess I am." Ryan casually replied. Jace walked to the staircase and gazed up to see the end of the tunnel, "…but y'know," Ryan went on, "that's what the map told me. It's where you're supposed to meet the Unwise One. Right there."

Jace walked up the staircase and ended up at another section of the torture room. More horrible torture devices like a spiked roller and a hanging cage resided there. The room however appeared darker than the previous one.

Jace creased his brow, glancing at the phone, "Wait a minute… I thought you said it was the _Lame_ One, not the _Unwise _One."

"No I didn't."

"Yeah you did."

"No I didn't."

"…you said Unwise One."

Silence fell on the other line. An uneasy feeling burned inside Jace.

"Ryan, what's going on?"

Ryan sighed, "…guess you gonna have to find out sooner or later. By the way, next time you go on an adventure requested by the League of Video Gaming Legends, don't bring in a pathetic Nintendo character with you."

"Toadsworth?" Jace chuckled, "Oh come on Ryan. He's not that bad of a fella, he's…!"

His eyes widened in sudden realization. He left Toadsworth all alone. He could be in danger. "…oh no. Toadsworth!"

He turned back for the stairs when a pile of rocks crashed before him, causing a cave-in. Phone slipped from Jace's hand and dropped in a clatter.

Then a low hiss came. It sounded like it was amped up on stereo mode. It was very loud and very close. Jace froze, slowly turned around and looked up. A large trunk-shaped body weighing 1000 pounds and stretching more than 100 feet filled up every corner of the hall. It looked like a massive gigantic tree trunk, scaly, arid with a greenish-brown color and black oval spots and markings.

The slithering body stirred and a low hissing filled the echoing hall.

Ryan peeked in from the phone, noticing the mass body hugging the ceiling and every corner of the wide room. "Well," he grinned, "would you look at that? You actually found it. Behold Jacen Riders, your worst nightmare: the Freakish."

Jace turned cold all over. Despite his courage, Jace was deathly afraid of snakes. Last time he encountered one was in his bedroom back in Italy. He was 8 and it was a cobra and his family had exterminated it before it could strike him.

But today was different. Snake was massive and this time he was alone. He stepped back with a huge lump in his throat.

"This…t-this is…" he swallowed hard, "…the _Freakish_…? …what is that?!"

Ryan faked a gasp, "Oh that's right!" he then sounded serious again, "You don't know what it is, do ya? _This_ giant Titanoboa-Python Hybrid here is called the Freakish, a mortal enemy to the Nintendo World AND the White Knight."

"Oh man…" Jace trembled violently. He turned back, heading for the rocks that blocked the entry. He paused again before it, unable to think of a way to escape.

He went for it anyway. His hands slammed on the heavy rocks. He knew they weighted a ton. He searched for any small opening. Anything to pull these rocks down with one arm swing so that he could get out of that place.

But then he caught himself. One noise, one sound from these rocks could provoke the snake further.

"Just so you know, Jace," Ryan went on, "the Freakish just got done with its dinner: a delicious Raven king. Too bad Ravens are now extinct here in this tower. Apparently it was the last one of its kind." Ryan's voice taunted from the _Samsung _phone, just as Jace noticed the slithering body curling around the room.

The body revealed something churning on its insides. And it did look like a large bird about as large as a ten-year old boy. Jace's heart raced.

"But it still looks hungry though." Ryan went on, "Care to see the look on his face? Oh wait… you can't see it standing from _waaay_ over there."

Jace slowly reached down and grabbed his phone back. He glared at Ryan on the _Skype_, "You monster…" he whispered.

"Why thank you. It's a gift." Ryan replied.

"But why…? Why did you do this?" Jace tried to contain the volume of his angry terrified voice, "I thought I was helping you guys! And the last one of its kind? How can you be so cruel?!"

"It was all a team effort." Ryan said, "Medusa had to keep her enemies busy in New York, while the villains and the league teamed up together to create this pure concoction of darkness that is the Freakish, Devourer of all heroes, just for you. Could've been sent to New York, but the Smash Bros. would've messed up our plan. So… we had to lure you with a very special connection."

"Noir." He spoke the name in vain, knowing exactly what Ryan was talking about.

"I know right?" Ryan relished, "Who knew your own worst enemy could do this to you? And knowing your childhood fear of snakes, getting rid of you is gonna be a piece of cake!"

Jace immediately pressed End, ending the _Skype_ before he could hear Ryan's evil laughter. He desperately looked around until he saw another set of stairs far into a corner, leading to the top of the tower. He was about to dart for the stairs, but the slithering body led up to those stairs. He hesitated. The snake body moved.

"Oh god, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna d…" he went for _his_ iPhone and furiously dialed 9-1-1, "…die…"

Dial tone. Then… "911. What's your Emergency?"

Jace was about to speak when laughter broke out from the end of the line. It was Ryan again, "Ah! Jace you're so naïve."

"Would you stop hacking my phone?" Jace hissed.

"Sorry. It's also a gift. And an impulse." Ryan said, "by the way, 911 don't work here in London."

A loud crumble resonated. Jace whizzed his head and there he was, face-to-face, with a massive snake. Head the size of a huge rock it slowly approached. Once again Jace dropped his phone.

"…but screaming for help does." Ryan laughed.

Jace screamed… but his cry of help only came out as a gasping croak. He slowly stepped back, to a wall, then toward the staircase, his teary eyes never left the snake weaving its head left and right, closing in. The snake unhinged its jaws, revealing its terrifying combo fangs of mountain lion and shark.

Then in a split second, the snake struck.

Jace ducked and screamed, this time louder. The predator's head plunged through a wall and rains of bricks pummeled near him. He scooped his phone back and sprinted up the twisted stairway just as the beast unhinged its head off the wall and stretched in pursuit of its next meal, its tail thrashed out the tortured devices in the way.

Jace cascaded up the stairs. Looking back he could see the snake's head closing in. But the stairs felt like a long-winding road to nowhere. Shortly his breath turned shallow, his knees felt weak, and he was damp in sweat. But he wasn't ready to slow down and the snake wasn't about to stop its pursuit.

He finally tripped and landed hard on the steps, scraping an elbow, chin, and knee. He wheeled around. The Freakish unhinged its jaws. Jace screamed, shot his arms and boldly grabbed on the fangs. The beast threw its head up. Jace let go off the fangs and soared above the beast. The beast then slammed its head on its prey. The impact sent Jace soaring through more staircases. The beast then threw its tail across him and he flew through a door, sprawling to the tower skybridge like a ragged doll.

Jace cried out in pain, the broken bones and throbbing joints assaulted him from recovering. The snake followed mere seconds! He wheeled toward it. He barely could see the beast through a thick veil of blood coming from his skull dripping and obscuring his vision.

The snake unhinged its jaws again and struck. Jace rolled to his side and the beast's head brought down half of the bridge, almost taking him down to an infinite drop.

Jace was quickly slipping. He threw his arms far to the bridge floor and quickly pushed his body back up from falling. He jumped back to his feet and ran. The snake turned back at him and gave chase.

Another cry of help was heard below. Jace caught sight of Toadsworth, tied inside a bag by a group of shadowy figures. The mushroom steward was struggling inside.

"Toadsworth!" Jace shouted for him. The shadowy figures looked up to Jace. Then Jace looked behind him. The Freakish was fast approaching! He continued to run. The snake closed in again. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Jace cried out.

The snake roared ferociously and threw another head slam across him, rocketing him through the bell tower into its belfry. His body slammed on the bell and his body slumped down to an upside down position.

Feeble and in pain, he glanced up at the bell, then back at the approaching snake. The snake unhinged its jaws again and lunged. Jace rolled again to his side and lunged for the bell's soundbow just as the beast headbutted on the bell. A loud gong resonated and the beast fell back, roaring with a sharp throb. The bell swung back and forth, attempting to shake Jace off it as he struggled to climb to the bell's head. His sweating hands stained with his own blood slipped on the cold bell metal.

But the terrified wounded teen held on tight to the bell, his blurry vision never left his predator. His breathing remained in labor.

**xxx**

Back in New York,

Noir paced back and forth. His cellphone glued to his ear, he was unable to stand still. Finally he stopped pacing.

"What do you mean you fail to transfer me to the League of Video Gaming Legends Director line?" the suave young man hissed, "I just need to check on the status on my referred client, Jacen Riders. I'm keeping tabs on him and the 3DS that he stole!"

Pause.

"Oh yeah, that's rich. Like the 3DS even has a GPS tracking device."

He pressed the End Call and angrily stuffed his phone back to his pocket. "Guess I'm gonna have to find out what's going on, on my own."

He glanced back to a slightly closed door then quickly walked away. The closed door slowly creaked open and Jenn emerged from him, peeking outside. She had just heard Noir's conversation and looked rather grim. "Jace…?"

**xXx**

Jace glanced around, sensing the walls gradually closing in on either side even though they weren't. He felt trapped. The fear of the snake has now turned him claustrophobe.

The snake slowly moved its throbbing head, slowly waking up from its unconsciousness. There was no time to dawdle. Jace looked up. A long rope was before him, leading up the ceiling of the tower. With all his aching strength he pulled out of the bell and to the rope. His fingers barely missed  
the rope and he slipped. He quickly tightened his grip on the rope before he lost his balance. The rope felt hard and sandy. Definitely not good for his bloodied, bruised palms. He winced and bit his lower lip, forcing himself from not yelling in pain.

The snake has woken up. The beast looked up and spotted its prey. It angrily hissed, projecting its displeasure that its meal was slipping away from its jaws.

Jace suddenly felt his phone vibrating. With one good hand held tight on the rope he quickly pulled out the iPhone from his jeans and caught a glimpse of Ryan's name on the _Skype_ Caller ID. His agonizing fear turned to boiling bitterness. He answered.

"Give up?" Ryan couldn't contain the amusement in his voice.

"This isn't funny, man!" Jace yelled.

"Do you hear me laughing?" Ryan's voice turned serious again. "But hey, if it makes you feel any better this is all your fault."

"My fault?" He whispered. "How is that…MY fault?"

"To think that Dr. Dimentio has a pathetic criminal running around the streets like you." Ryan spat, "You stole a priceless console from corporate and you didn't even bother returning it back to its rightful owner: ME!"

"It was a PROTOTYPE! You aren't an owner of this either!"

"But it didn't bother you to own it now, did it? And you knew something was wrong with it but you still kept it as your own. Just like you found Hunt and kept him away from me!"

"Hunt? What does Hunt has to do with—!"

Jace stopped talking, gazing into space in shock, then slowly turned to the phone, "…oh no. You're h-h-hiiim! Creepy Somith."

"The one and only." Ryan now sounded cold and bitter on the other line.

"Is that what this whole thing is about? Hunt? My best friend?"

"No, he's _my _best friend! Not yours! Me and Hunt were like two halves of the same heart. Bonnie and Clyde. MARIO AND LUIGI! But then YOU showed up and spread that nasty rumor about me being a creep trying to kill him!"

"Dude, you hacked ROB the Robot and used him to wedge Hunt's neck! At the school's crawl space! FOR A WEEK! I had to step in and expose your evil ways!"

"We were in Kindergarten."

"So?" Jace blasted, "Now what? I save Hunt and now you're trying to get rid of me with that… Freakish beast?"

"Ding-ding-ding! _Another_ winner!" Ryan cheered, "All in a day's work to get Huntin' Daisy back."

"It's Hunt. Don't butcher his name."

"But I don't take all the creds of course." Ryan went on, "I thank you of course for summoning the magic of Nintendo to life, and Noir and the Signore for most of the financial scheming. _I_, however, did all the bloody work."

Jace gnashed his teeth, "You son of a bitch. I swear if I ever survive this, I'm gonna kill you."

"I'd like to see you try, buddy." Ryan chuckled on the other line.

The phone suddenly made a vibrating sound. Someone else was calling Jace. It was Hunt. He quickly hung up Ryan and picked up Hunt's number.

"Jace!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Hunt?!" Jace let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Oh thank god you called! Listen man. I need you! You've gotta help me!"  
"Oh thank god you picked up! Listen man, something bad's happen—!"

Hunt froze, "Wait, what?"

"I'm trapped inside the London Tower with a giant snake! And—!"

"Dude, slow down!" Hunt exclaimed, "You're breaking up! What's going on?"

"Creepy Somith!" Jace barked at the phone. "That creep from Kindergarten. He's back! He had this snake, this _Freakish_, summoned out to get me!"

"What?" Hunt jumped from his seat, "F-Freakish?!" his shout alerted the crowd in the Miiverse.

"You've gotta call Jenn! _Ojisan_! ANYONE! I'm—!"

The phone slipped from his grasp and plummeted right into the snake's mouth. The snake chopped the iPhone. Its tongue slurped with satisfaction.

Jace gazed back. Tears streamed down his bloodied face. His voice quivered.

"I've got to get outta here…" he looked around, hopelessly. He closed his eyes and with a mighty shout…

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLP!"

**xxx**

"Jace?" Hunt called out. Nothing but static on the other line of his cell, "…I—I can't hear you. Jace? Jace, are you there?"

"Mamamia! What is-a happening?" Mario called out.

"Where's Jace?" Dimentio demanded.

"Is he okay?" Link asked.

"I heard Freakish!" Pit said.

"What about Toadsworth?" asked Peach.

DK and Diddy grunted as if asking. Soon all characters bombarded Hunt with questions. Hunt pushed past the crowd and went for one of the floating screens. He pressed the screen and the on-screen keyboard displayed. He quickly typed in 'Freakish'.

"He's not okay everyone." Hunt said, "He sounded really scared."

The characters protested some more. "What do you mean-a, scared?" Luigi demanded, "He's the boldest man I know!"

Hunt solemnly shook his head in disagreement. "I think the Freakish got to him."

"I thought we prevented that freak of nature from coming back to life!" Fox said. "Now, he's after Jace?"

"What is that Freakish anyway?" Pit demanded, "And why is it after Jace?!" he turned to Palutena, "Could this creature be really dangerous?"

Palutena was about to respond when Jenn's shout caught the crowd's attention, "Hunt! Father!"

Hunt and Dimentio jumped to Jenn's cry. She appeared frantic, "Guys, something's wrong."

"Jace?" Dimentio asked her and she nodded furiously.

"I saw Noir talk about him briefly and then he left in a hurry." Jenn said, "He had that look on his face like he knew something bad happened." She then turned to Dimentio, "What do you think is happening to my cousin, daddy? What do you think? Please tell me it's not bad!"

"Honey, it's okay." Dimentio hugged his daughter, "He's strong. But the only thing I fear the most is his fear of snakes." The doctor nervously laughed, "…b-but I don't think the Freakish is one of them, right?"

"Freakish." Fox read from the floating screen, "this medieval powerful beast can only be revived in London, England. Weight: 1000 pounds. Size: 100 feet. Form…"

A sharp gasp of panic filled the MiiVerse at the sight of the large Freakish gazing from the screen. "…Titanoboa/Python Hybrid. Carnivore Snake."

Everyone exchanged glances of worries. "noo…" Palutena groaned.

Fox went on, "…to read more, subscribe to Nintendo World Research, only 699 Gold Coins."

"This is… this is madness!" Pit exclaimed.

"I know!" Falco said, "That beast cannot exist, we prevented its awakening."

"No, I mean it's madness that we have to pay 699 Gold Coins for an article!" Pit exclaimed, "Who can afford Gold Coins? I can only afford hearts, not gold!"

All eyes glowered at Pit. Falco struck him hard on the head. "OW!"

"Guys, focus!" Hunt exclaimed, "Jace has a massive fear of snakes! The Freakish is a massive snake! He is FACING a massive snake!"

"Yeah we get that!" A frustrated Jenn barked, "we can ALL establish he don't do well with snakes! Can we go to London now?!"

"Gladly." Mario rubbed his hands together and raised his arm up, summoning a green pipe.

**xXx**

Back in London, England,

"What's going on?" the voice of Noir filled the room. But it didn't make the Signore and Ryan flinch a bit. Noir approached them, noticing them watching something from a huge translucent circle. "What are you all watching?"

He gazed at the image. It was Jace, hanging on for dear life before the Freakish. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the colossal reptile.

"Something I'd like to call, _BFP_," Ryan replied, "Best Friend's Peril."

"Okay don't you think this is a little harsh of a mission to give this boy?" Noir said.

"We're merely toying with him." Ryan replied.

"Yeah, well playtime's over." Noir ordered, "Call off the mission. Doing this won't get us anywhere near the magical 3DS."

Medusa suddenly emerged from behind Ryan like a shifting shadow, "That's what you think!" She turned to Noir with sullen disapproval. Noir's eyes widened. He didn't flinch but he was really taken by surprise.

"Playtime to me is never ending when it comes to humans!"

"Medusa?" Noir's eyes flickered. "But…" he turned to the Signore, "…and you're allowing this?"

Medusa faced the Signore and Ryan who said nothing. The snakes on her head danced in celebration, "The 3rd Dimensional Screen is ours for the taking." Her scowling gaze turned back to Noir, "No matter what the cost."

"Nooo…" Noir argued, "It's not yours for the taking. It's a prototype and it belongs to Headquarters."

"Do NOT speak to the Great Medusa that way, Noir!" barked the Signore, "You should learn to know your place!"

"Hey, I know my place!" Noir barked back, "It's my company of Nintendo. What about yours, Signore? Isn't it up North to your mother's bum?"

The Signore let out a sharp gasp. Medusa stared at Noir with shocked expression. Ryan giggled, "Oh no he di'nt."

"_I_ happen to own stocks of _your_ Company! So I happen to be your BOSS!" Stefano barked.

"Hm." Noir stepped forward, pursing his lips. His nose barely touched the Signore's, "You wanna fire me, boss? Bring it."

The Signore raised his chin and deepened his brow.

"No." Medusa stepped forward, slowly pulling the Signore behind her. She now was facing Noir, nose-to-nose, "Allow _me_ to do the honor."

Noir stood firm, despite feeling his palms sweating and his heart beating by Medusa's presence. Ryan licked his upper lips, pressing the tips of his fingers together with heavy anticipation.

**xXx**

Back at the London Tower,

The green pipe reemerged into the tower's green pastures. Mario, Luigi, Hunt, Jenn, Dimentio, Pit and Palutena all shot out of the pipe.

"This transportation mode sure feels weird." Palutena said, glancing at the disappearing pipe.

Jenn looked around, unfamiliar with her new setting, "are we in London?"

"HEEEEAAAAAALP!"

All heads whizzed to the source of the scream. They spotted a group of shadowy figures carrying a moving sack.

"Hey!" Mario exclaimed. The figures turned to the heroes and froze up.

"Drop that man!" Mario shouted, running after the enemies. Luigi followed and so do the rest of the heroes. The enemies vanished into thin air, leaving the sack behind.

Mario and Luigi tore the sack open. "Jace?" Jenn called out as the rest of the group gathered around the free sack.

A mushroom head pulled out of the sack. "Toadsworth!" They exclaimed.

"What happened?" asked Luigi.

"Oh, Master Mario. Master Luigi." Toadsworth sighed with relief, "oh thank the heavens you're here. I was waiting here as Jace told me to wait here and then BAM! These creeps showed up out of the blue and-!"

"Wait. So you were with Jace?" Hunt asked, "And now he's gone?"

All turned back to Toadsworth.

The mushroom steward's eyes widened. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" His lips quivered, then soon his body trembled, "ohhhh no, I failed to protect Jace did I? It's just like me failing the princess! Ohhh what a cruel world! If anything happened to Sir Jace, I don't know if I can even live!"

"Don't worry Toadsworth." Mario said, "we're-a just glad that you're-a safe."

"Father, what are you doing?" Jenn asked, noticing Dimentio pulling out his smartphone and going to a secure website.

"Going to a secure GPS Tracking site." He said, "When Jace was rebelling after his father passed away, his mother implanted a GPS tracking device on him."

"Really? On him?" Hunt gasped.

"Not literally." Dimentio replied, "You know that Smash Ball necklace he has? That's the GPS device." He turned back to his smartphone, ignoring the stunned look on Hunt and Jenn's faces, "all I need now is his Social Security number."

Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth noticed Palutena glowing again, the mirror was held by Pit before her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Mario asked.

Pit shook his head, "I dunno. She told me to hold the mirror and then she started glowing before it."

"She must-a been sensing something." Luigi guessed.

The characters suddenly watched the magical 3DS morph back to Palutena's clasped hands. They gasped.

"The Screen...?" the brothers breathed.

"If all else fails," Palutena muttered, "this is the only way."

"Only w-! What's the only way?" Toadsworth demanded.

The 3DS briefly floated midair before it shot straight into the mirror. Once again the mirror glowed gold and rippled on contact. The brilliant flood of light shot out of the mirror again startling the heroes, then the mirror glasses flew from its frames as if in pieces.

Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep!

All eyes turned back to Dimentio's smartphone. "Did you find Jace?" Jenn asked.

"Where is he?" Hunt asked.

Dimentio stood still. The beeping was still heard. Only it was coming from two places: the smartphone and something else glittering a couple of feet from the engineer.

The heroes approached the object: it was Jace's Smash Ball necklace. Its chain had been snapped off as if by a great force.

Dimentio gently picked it up and all stared hopelessly at the lost jewel. "...found it."

The ground started shaking violently. The heroes immediately lost footing and Dimentio dropped the necklace by surprise. The whole tower wobbled, unable to stand still.

"What's going on?!" Jenn exclaimed.

The clouds thickened and the clear-blue sky darkened again. All heads looked up to the sky and a bloodcurdling scream left their throats.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

**xXx**

**To be continued...**

- New episodes coming in 2013.

- Warning! New Challenger Approaching: The White Knight is here! And his name is Simon! He's dark, brooding and he's the spitting image of Jace. But what makes him better than Jace?

- Noir's destiny will also be revealed!

- But the big question on everyone's mind is... did Jace survived?

- ...but if you can't wait that long, stay tuned for Twitter updates in the near future to satisfy your appetite.

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_White Knight in 3D_


	11. Special:: Christmas in 3D - Part 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

**A/N**: Now let's take a step back in time to this story as we're getting ready to celebrate the holiday season. Enjoy this new full-length movie-like special episode of Super Smash Bros. - Christmas in 3D which took place right after the episode Thanksgiving in 3D. The episode will be split into many parts, with the final part giving a hint at what to expect in this story and its sequel Super Smash Bros. Universe in 2013.

Hope you enjoy this new episode, and have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_Christmas in 3D_

_**part 1**  
_

* * *

**[Scenes from SSB3D episode – Thanksgiving in 3D]**

Previously on _Super Smash Bros. 3D,_

_Jace's super celeb mom, Mai, came to surprise her son and friends.  
_**[Scene of Mai surprising Jace, Hunt, Jenn and the Smash Bros. at the suite.]**  
"Mom?" Jace exclaimed.

"My little Jay-Bird!" she rushed to him for a hug. "I am so happy to see you again!"

_But she herself was in for a big surprise,_

**[Scene of a Black Warp Star floating before a wide audience of Nintendo characters and live-action people.]**

"Jace?" Mai exclaimed, seeing all Nintendo characters in the ballroom, "What is this cartoon madness that I see?"

_And she wasn't the only one,  
_**[Scene of the audience learning of Mai's wedding buzz]**

"You guys are getting married, and you told everyone without telling ME?!" exclaimed Jace before the ballroom audience.

**[Scene shifts to Jace angrily walking away from the ballroom.]**

_Her son was not happy with the news,_

**[Scene shifts to Jace at Ground Zero Memorial, staring at the name of his late father]**

_But in the end, _

"I'm sorry…" Mai tearfully said to Jace, "…I thought I got over this but…" she sniffled.

"…but you're not." Jace sadly replied.

**[Scene of mother son moment scene ending with a hug.]**

_Everything turned out just… merry._

_Meanwhile, _

**[Scene of Dedede crashing the Thanksgiving Day parade]**

"Soon in due time, I'm gonna be unleashing a powerful gift on this Thanksgiving fiesta!" Dedede shouted to the street crowd.

_Kirby enjoyed his Thanksgiving,_

**[Scene of Kirby ****shoving chunks of Thanksgiving food into his mouth at a Thanksgiving table.****]**

_But unfortunately, _**  
[Scene of Kirby** **swallowing Waddle Dee stampede at the Thanksgiving Day Parade.]**

_His arch nemesis didn't._  
**Kirby landed in front of Dedede with puffed-up cheeks, "Wuh-oh…" Dedede uttered as Kirby shot a star to Dedede's face.**

_And so that's how Thanksgiving ended. With thanksgiving,_

Confettis flew across the parade streets, dancers swung their legs in glee, and Jace, Jenn and the Smash Brothers mightily pumped their fists in the air.

_Happiness…_

"We did it!" Jace exclaimed.

"WHOO!" Jenn exclaimed.

"VICTORY DANCE!" All the Smash Bros. exclaimed.

_And dancing…  
_The whole parade does the Kirby Victory dance_: tatatatatatata-ta-ta! ta-ta! Ta-ta! Ta-ta! PSHHT! [Crowd cheers]_

_But the holidays ain't over yet for more Smash Bros. mayhem…_

**xXx**

**Christmas in 3D**

The song_ Christmastime _was playing in every Mall's speakers. The children's choir was heard caroling in the music as the crowd filled the foyers, swinging fists across each other in every store. Thousands tackled, few pulled each other's hair out, gifts and shopping bags spilled everywhere.

One frantic woman looked around with a large Macy's shopping bag clutched in hands. She cautiously crossed past the mayhem.

"MOOM!" kids were heard screaming. "HONEEEY!" followed an older man's voice.

The woman looked up and spotted two girls, a boy, and a gray-haired man awaiting her at the mall's corner near two escalators. Her family!

She took a step when she stopped and watched two elderly ladies—one middle aged, and one really old and scrawny-looking—pulling at an expensive high-tech microwave. The scrawny one finally yanked the microwave from the mid-age woman and swung her purse across the mid-age's face. She flew through the mall's railings and the scrawny lady took off without looking. The coast was now clear. The frantic woman started running for her family.

"HURRY!" they were screaming for her.

She ran on her sharp heels. By the time she was halfway out of the mayhem, something flashing blue landed before her. It was an animated falcon bird, "AH-HAA!"

"HAAA!" she screamed, and so did her family. "FALCO, Leave my mom alone!" shouted one of the kids, a young boy.

But the bird ignored him. "NOW I've got you!" the falcon bird Falco giggled evilly before he zipped right past her. A sharp sound cut through her like a blade. The woman's shopping bag was no longer in her arms. She turned and saw the bird, now behind her carrying the bag. She screamed again, only this time she was angry.

"Hey, give it back!"

The bird started running away from her but then he stopped before another woman, dressed up like a ninja. "HIYAAAA!" she threw a few flying Taekwondo air kick before posing, distracting Falco. Falco froze and stared.

"WHHOOOOAaaaaaaa…" She then threw a Palm Thrust at him, slamming him hard on the chest. Falco let go of the bag and flew across a distance. The Tae woman watched the bag land into another cartoon character's hands: a fox, Fox Mc. Cloud.

Fox landed on the ground with the bag and sprinting past more chasing mobs who now has turned their attention on him and his falcon comrade. The crazed shoppers all jumped at Fox to pin him; but he nimbly zipped past them with his Fox Illusion.

Fox then zipped past another character: Samus. She was in a blue jumpsuit. Not a fitting outfit for the wintertime, the shoppers would think. But the outfit made her move like a gazelle. She ran across the hungry shoppers, waving her Pistol that shot out whip and crackled the ground, frightening them. She was carrying four bags of fancy outfits and jewelries in her arms. She leapt from the ground and tossed the bags toward a pink puffball: Kirby!

Kirby stretched his jaws open and inhaled the bags into his mouth. He landed on the mall ground.

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!" Mai-Lee's incessant cheering drove Kirby, Samus, Fox, and Falco toward her. She was among the crazed shoppers, at the mall's square area.

More shoppers closed in on Mai. She threw a 180 degree swing of her shopping bag full of high-tech gadgets across her attackers' jaws. She then delivered a Hurricane Kick "HIII-YAA!"

Her attackers quickly pulled back, helplessly watching Kirby swallowing a bunch of shopping bags and on-sale items. Falco, Fox, and Samus joined her and Kirby just as the puffball swallowed the last items. But that didn't calm down the chaos in the mall.

"Got everything?!" Mai yelled.

"Meta-Knight is missing." ZS Samus said.

Another elderly woman ran past by the Smash Brothers and Mai, laughing maniacally and waving with one hand one small shopping bag, "HAA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA-HA! HA-HA! HA-HA! HAAA-H—!"

Meta Knight swung his cape out, wrapping the woman with it. The whole mall darkened and everyone stopped fighting for each other's on-sale items.

"Know my power!" Meta-Knight's voice echoed across the mall, followed by the woman's ear-piercing scream, and a blade cutting through flesh in a sharp sweeping stroke.

The light suddenly went on and the crowd watched the elderly woman crash before them, unconscious with the clothes she wore torn in shreds. Everyone screamed.

The crowd then watched Luigi's Bumblebee Kart speed out from the ice rink and right past them. They then watched Meta-Knight with the woman's small shopping bag on one floor heading toward Luigi's direction. Meta-Knight jumped into Luigi's kart and together they drove until they reached Mai and the rest of the Smash Bros. Now the mass crowd of shoppers had turned their greedy attention toward them.

"She used violence to get what she wants!" one of the women screamed, an accused finger pointed at the Smash Bros.

"GET THEEEEEEEM!" wailed another woman from the crowd and the crowd went in pursuit of the Smash Brothers and Mai. There were so many screams it was unbearable, "Take their stuffs! Rip them to shred! Don't let that masked ball guy touch you with his cape!"

"GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY!" Mai and the Smash Brothers screamed at each other as they all tried to quickly board the tiny Kart, shoving and pushing each other, before the crowd reached them. The kart took off at a blinding speed with Luigi now flying from the back seat. Cheers and bawls filled the mall.

"WHOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO! IN YOUR FACE, BLACK FRIDAY CROWD! IN… YOUR… FAAAAACE!" Mai's scream echoed across the mall.

**xXx**

"You used violence to get your holiday shopping done?"

Dr. Dimentio screamed, waving a newspaper at the Nintendo characters and Mai-Lee back in their Christmas-decorated Imperial Suite of the New York Plaza. The newspaper cover said "**Notorious Shoppers in Black Friday Strike Again**" and Mai-Lee's face was in the picture's spotlight.

Luigi, Fox, Falco, Samus, Kirby, and Meta-Knight all lowered their heads.

"What? They were on sale!" Mai nonchalantly shrugged, "You don't call it Black Friday for nothing!" she turned to the Smash Bros., "And you guys shouldn't feel bad." She petted Luigi's head, "You did all great."

Luigi adjusted his hat, looking solemn, "Gee, I dunno."

"Dunno what?" Mario's voice made Luigi jump back and scream. His bro just popped up behind him via his Green Pipe.

"Glad you asked Mario." Dimentio began, as the red plumber slowly exited from the green pipe and Peach, Toadsworth, Zelda and Link followed behind. Mario helped out Peach.

"Luigi here wonders if it was wise for my ex-girlfriend to use the power of the Smash Bros. to attack and exploit holiday shoppers at this hour of need just to get what she wants." Dimentio proudly raised his chin, "And I'm sure the others would agree with me."

"I actually loved it! That was AWESOME!" shouted Mai's fiancé Daniel, who proceeded to high-five her and the colorful characters who cheered on. Dimentio's eyes widened in shock.

"Hey, can I borrow one of you guys the next time I go gamble on a horse race?" Daniel proposed.

Mai shot his fiancé a dark scowl. Daniel grimaced, "I mean… p-play innocent poker?"

Dimentio shook his head and turned to Mai again, "Well, I don't think your son and your niece would like to hear what just went down at that mall. They should be coming from there any minute."

"Hey Mom!" Jace's voice now made Dimentio jump back and scream. He was also coming out of Mario's warp pipe followed by Jenn and Hunt.

"I heard what went down at the mall." Jace jumped off the pipe and approached his mom. A wide smile came to his face, "I didn't know you were _that_ hardcore!"

Mai grinned from ear-to-ear, "Well, I told you I was cool." She then turned back curiously to the trio, "But uhh… where did you go? Thought you went to get the Christmas tree and decorations."

"We did!" Peach exclaimed just as Jenn and Hunt pulled out from the pipe a large animated pine tree.

"Freshly cut grass from the wintry region of Faron Woods." Zelda explained as Hunt and Jenn handed it to Mario who animatedly slammed it perfectly by a window, overlooking the city.

"And it comes with its own decorations." Link said before clapping his hands. Immediately the tree shimmer a majestic glow. Fireflies danced around the greens, ornaments grew from the branches like apples, and the garland shed from the sides like snow patches. The Shine Sprite floated from the very top of the tree like a glowing sun. The crowd breathed in awe of its beauty.

"Sure beats traveling to the woods for the right tree now does it?" Jace said.

Jenn cuddled to Jace's arm, "I love this time of year…" she sighed, "decorating the tree, sharing snacks, swapping stories, hanging out with family and friends…"

"So Mom!" Jace snapped away from Jenn and headed to his mom. Jenn frowned as Jace grinned and blushed like a happy child to his mom, "sooo, what did you get me?"

Mai gave her best mom smile, "Now Jace, you know the rules about no presents before Christmas, right?"

Jace let his shoulders slump, "…okay." He said, "I'm hoping you got me that Premium Wii U. I can't believe I'm the only one who didn't get it when it came out."

"Well, I'm sure the gift I got you was worth fighting aggressive women for." Mai said, "Man, we women with our nails. Who knew they were freakishly sharp?!"

The guys all replied in agreement.

"I have claw marks in places I _don't_ want to discuss." She sighed, "Anyway, I'm gonna go soak myself in a hot bath. You coming, Daniel?"

"Oooh, I love baths!"

"Aww…" Luigi groaned, "baths… I love them too…"

"Not you Luigi." Mai said. Luigi slumped.

"I'm excited about this time of year 'cuz my folks are finally coming to the States before Christmas!" Hunt sighed happily, fantasizing, "My parents and I with my two best friends in the whole wide world and their families, AAAND the Smash Bros. Oooh! We'll all be together again like a real family!"

**xXx**

-**Three weeks later…**

"What? You're not coming to the States?"

"We're so sorry, _Musuko-san_." Hunt's dad said solemnly from Hunt's phone. The folks were on FaceTime with their only boy. "There is heavy snowstorm here in Osaka and it's impossible for all airports to be reopened for service. At least not until after Christmas."

Hunt's frown creased. He felt a huge knot tying on his stomach.

"It's an unfortunate decision we have to make." Said Hunt's mom, "I am so sorry, my sweet dumpling. _gomennasai_."

Hunt sighed. "No. No. I understand." He said, his voice failing to hide his sadness, "it's just that it's gonna be hard though, to spend Christmas alone… again."

"You have Jace and his mom Mai-Lee. And Jenn and her dad André." Hunt's dad said, "So you should be fine."

"We'll send you a postcard." Hunt's mom proposed.

Hunt smiled faintly, "…yeah, I guess."

Jace and Jenn entered the bedroom where Hunt was with his folks. They briefly spied on him and could sense by his sulked shoulders that he was not getting good news. Finally Hunt hung up, turned around and saw them before him.

"I'm sensing that they're not coming." Jace cringed.

"What do you think?" Hunt said, almost bitterly. "Apparently they're stranded at the airport. Heavy snowstorm."

Jenn raised a questioning eyebrow, "Snow? In Osaka?"

"The last snowstorm happened in 2008." Jace reminded Jenn.

"…after 11 years of no snow." Hunt snapped, "And Mother Freaking Nature had to take the perfect time to make her _winter_ wonderland!" Hunt dropped his phone on the bed and sullenly walked past them and out of the room.

"Who am I kidding?" he said, "I'm not predicting a chance of a Christmas miracle in my life anyway. I'll go help Mai and Dr. Dimentio with the Christmas decorations."

Jace and Jenn watched Hunt leave. Jenn's eyes were clouded with pity. "Poor Hunt." He said.

"Yeah, that sucks." Jace said.

"Hunt should have his parents here with us." Jenn pointed out, "I mean, it's not fair that my dad is here and your mom is here and none of his parents are here at this time of year. It'll be so cool if we could just teleport to Osaka and then find Hunt's parents at the airport."

"Wait…" Jace's face beamed. An idea, no, a crazy idea, was forming in his mind. He turned to Jenn, "…say that last part again."

"Find Hunt's parents at the airport?"

"No, before that."

"Oh! You mean teleport—!" Jenn cut herself short. Her face suddenly crippled at the sight of Jace's smile broadening. She HAD to say that stupid word teleportation.

"Ohhh nooo…" her whining voice heightened.

"Ohhh yeaaah!" Jace nodded excitedly.

"PLEEEEAASE don't tell me you gonna do something STUPID!" she exclaimed.

"It's not stupid. It's smart." Jace went to the bedroom drawer, pulled it open and pulled out the shiny magical Flame-Red Nintendo 3DS, "We're going to the Nintendo World. And we're gonna find a shortcut from there to the Osaka Airport and find Hunt's parents."

Jace flicked the 3DS open, turned it on and placed it on the bed. He proceeded to take Hunt's phone on the bed and put it into his jeans' pocket.

"I swear, Jacen Riders. If we don't get outta that stupid plan alive before Christmas, I'm gonna make sure Santa Claus puts you on his Naughty List permanently."

"Again, it's not a stupid plan. It's smart. And Santa Claus doesn't exist…"

Jenn gasped. "…now grab your coats." Jace said, reaching for a seaweed-colored jacket in the closet and slip it in on, "It's gonna be a chilly day in Japan."

Jenn sighed frustratingly, but she went for her jacket anyway: a sun-colored leather blouse with matching belt.

"Ya ready?"

"Are you sure this is safe?" Jenn couldn't stop staring at the 3DS, "I mean, jumping into a 3DS console? I don't think it's gonna be safe. I mean we might end up breaking it and may I remind you that I've spent hours on its design and messing up with the screen is gonna be really—?"

Jace shoved Jenn into the 3DS, "…BAAAAAD!" her scream echoed as the 3D screen sucked her until she was no longer in the room. Jace took a step back, sprinted and leapt into the 3DS also.

Everything spun wildly before the cousins, their visions turned blur due to the high altitude, then an explosion of light blinded their sights, and suddenly they felt their legs hit the ground with a heavy slam.

Jenn almost tripped, startled by the feel of the ground. Jace managed to hold his ground.

Both cousins looked up and breathed at the sight of an immense park they were in. It was filled with gates at every corner and populated with Miis. Half of these Miis wore different holiday hats, from Santa Claus to elves and reindeers. They gazed high above and saw a Tower, with a monitor face on it, sporting a crown.

"Gates? Miis from around the world? The Central Tower…?" Jenn gasped.

"Could this be…?" Jace exhaled.

The two cousins exchanged glance, huge smiles came to their faces.

"We're in NINTENDO LAND!"

**xXx**

The _Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker March Suite_ filled every corner of the Macy's Herald Square Store.

A married couple walked by the clothing store, hand in hand, catching sights of cashmere sweaters. A group of girlfriends gushed over some perfume at the cosmetics section. A young man was negotiating the price of a shiny diamond ring with the jewel seller. Children were messing around over the kitchen and living room section of the store, and their parents tried but failed to calm them down. Yep. This was the busiest time of the year at the famous Macy's Store in New York.

Bowser and Ganondorf walked into the store, and immediately all eyes turned to them. A young woman stood right before them, unable to stop staring.

Ganondorf growled, barring all his sharp teeth. The woman screamed and fled and half of the customers near the villains took off also, avoiding being near them.

"Remind me why we're in a department store?" Ganondorf glowered at the shaking shoppers, "full of pathetic human wimps?"

"Because we have a holiday mission to fulfill!" a cheerful Bowser announced; his Santa Claus hat gracefully rest between his horns, "Remember that store commercial with all these celebrities giving special treatment and service to customers? Y'know? That grumpy businessman, that lovely cook, and that shiny blond kid with the baggy pants?"

"Your point?"

"We're celebrities too!" Bowser exclaimed, "Way before their times and even better, because both kids AND adults in this world _love_ us!"

"Love us?" Ganondorf glanced around the mall, "I don't know about you, but I don't feel any love here and I'm loving it."

"We're taking over Macy's Corporate…" Bowser announced. "Oy." Ganondorf lowered his head, not liking this announcement. But Bowser went on, "…so that we can give all these lucky shoppers a good holiday service! And a smile on their faces! That's right everybody! I'm gonna put a smile on YOUR faces!"

The customers stared, still shaking of course with no smile in sight.

"…not even a grin?" Bowser muttered before rolling his eyes, "Oy…"

The two villains walked over to a large circular desk in the department store. A receptionist was tending to a customer's needs; his back was facing the villains.

"Yo!" Bowser called out to him, his scaly hands slammed the shiny granite desk, "I need a job! I'm taking over this department store as the new Macy's Manager."

The receptionist turned to face the villains. Bowser jumped back. Ganondorf's eyes widened. The receptionist was Yoshi!

"Yash'n!" The green dinosaur cheerfully greeted.

[_Welcome to Herald Square Macy's Store_] An automated voice generator spoke for Yoshi from a white collar with green polka-dots on it. The Yoshi's eyes widened, [_Well, well, if it isn't Bowser and uhh…_] Yoshi cocked his head on one side, staring back at Ganondorf, [_Dorfon…_]

"Ganondorf." The Gerudo warlock gnashed his teeth.

[_Yeah, what's-your-face._]"Yash'n!" Yoshi squealed again,[_You're just in time for your shift!_]

"Shift?" Bowser grimaced, "I have a job already?"

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, "How do you even speak?"

"Ohhhh!" Yoshi cooed, pointing at the collar. [_Oh! This collar!_] "Yashi-shi-shiiiin!" the dinosaur happily nodded, [_Mr. Dimentio made it for me so that I can communicate.] _His eyes suddenly widened, [_I can also communicate with my miiiiind…creepy huh?_]

Bowser and Ganondorf stayed silent.

[_Oh! And your job, Bowser, is custodial services._]

Bowser laughed, "Ohh, sweet! Custodial services! So I get to keep delinquent customers into custody is that it?" He said, keeping a targeted eye on a group of teens who couldn't stop staring at Bowser. The teens scurried off, frightened.

Yoshi narrowed his eyes and hummed, [_Uhh… no. You're a janitor._]

The dinosaur suddenly shot out its tongue, startling Bowser. The tongue held on a bucket full of water and a mop. The tongue dropped both items before Bowser's feet. Bowser and Ganondorf jumped back.

Bowser stared at the items then back at Yoshi. "WWWHAAAAT?!" his roar frightened sent more customers who were near him fleeing like frightened birds on a shaken tree.

Yoshi shrugged nonchalantly.

"WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THIS STORE?!" the Koopa King bellowed, "I demand to speak with your manager!"

Yoshi shook his head, [_Yeah… I don't think you gonna like it._]

A green pipe shot up from behind the villains, startling them. Mario and Luigi emerged from out of the pipe, both wearing business suits with ties of their signature colors. No hats.

"Did-a somebody ask for a manager?" Mario gallantly announced. "I'll-a be happy to offer you great service to satisfy your shopping needs~!" he sing-sang. He then turned to Bowser, "Hello Bowser! Glad-a to see you here on your first day of your custodial services."

"That's-a janitor to you." Luigi clarified.

"If you have-a any questions," Mario said, "don't-a hesitate to talk to me, your boss!" a huge smile formed over his mustache, "I'll-a be watching you do grrrreat service!"

Bowser's face turned ripe like a tomato. "GRAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWLLLLL!"

**xXx**

-**Nintendoland Plaza-**

"Well, shake that bellybutton, Santa! I can't believe we're in Nintendoland!" Jace exclaimed, marveling at his surroundings.

Jenn turned a frown. Jace noticed and quickly added, "Oh, it's an expression."

"Why does Santa have to shake a bellybutton?" Jenn asked, "Should he be shaking his belly full of jelly?"

"No, 'cuz his bellybutton is like another stomach. That's how fat he is." Jace pointed out, "Pssht. Duunh!"

Jenn crippled her face in disgust, "Ugh… gross." She looked away as Jace laughed, "Mental picture alert!"

The cousins stepped before a floating monitor with dotted eyes and mouth.

"And this must be the park guide." Jace approached the monitor, "Monita, right?"

"That's right." The generated female voice in the monitor replied to Jace's inquiry, "Welcome to Nintendoland. I am Monita. Your park guide. How are you enjoying your day at the Nintendoland Plaza so far?"

"Great. Fantastic. Listen, we'd love to sit and chat and have some Star-shaped Cookies and Tea, but we're in a time crunch here."

"Yeah, we're trying to take a shortcut to Osaka, Japan." Jenn paused, "Actually, my _cousin_ wanted to take the shortcut to Osaka, Japan from the Nintendo World. _I _just wanted to stay away from his crazy antics just once for this holiday, but nooo…!"

Jace rolled his eyes, "Come on, Jenn. Don't you want Hunt to have a good Christmas?"

Jenn was about to argue further when Monita spoke, "I see. Taking a trip to the other side of your homeworld via the Nintendo Universe, are we? A bold move indeed." She paused, "Alas, for you to earn your shortcut, you must earn the Portal prize. It can be bought at the Plaza Tower."

Jace and Jenn exchanged reassuring smiles and turned back to Monita, "Fair enough." Jace said.

"Price will be 300 Nintendoland Coins." Monita revealed.

Jace and Jenn's jaws dropped. "What?!" Jenn exclaimed.

"Whoa…" Jace breathed. "That's pricey."

"How do we get that much money?" Jenn paused, "…wait, don't tell me. Let me guess. We have to play the attractions?"

"Oh my." Monita said, "You sure are a true smart girl. I guess my perception about young ladies with hair of light being obtuse turned out to be quite flawed."

"Aww…" Jenn smiled, blushing with a hand over her chest. Jace couldn't help but chortle.

"That's so sweet. Thank you!" Jenn went on, "Never thought I'd get a compliment from a respectful robot."

"Likewise." Monita replied. "Very likewise from the bowel of my circuit."

Jace's head turned ripe like a tomato. He tried his best not to explode and roll on the ground with laughter right now by Monita's intelligent put-down.

"Shall we?" Monita floated away. Jenn and Jace followed her. Jenn turned to Jace, "Isn't she sweet?"

Jace furiously nodded.

"Y'know Jace," Jenn went on, "The least you could do is not make fun of Monita. She's very polite. You don't see robots like these with the highest level of moral conduct and respect anywhere in this world for human and especially for girls."

"Girl, she said you were blond, stupid, and compliments you as a robot!" Jace whispered harshly.

Jenn's eyes shot open and her head whipped to Jace. Jace sniggered through his teeth, unable to contain his laughter any longer.

Monita, Jenn and Jace stood by the gate for Balloon Breeze. Monita turned to them, "Here is your first attraction: Balloon Trip Breeze."

Monita blinked and Jenn's winter blouse was quickly replaced with blue and orange overalls, a blue helmet and red balloons attached to her back.

Then the entire attraction transformed into a gorgeous beach display. Jenn saw Monita and Jace to the other side of a rapid river filled with large fishes swimming by. The transformation happened so fast for Jenn it took her a minute to figure out what just happened.

"Before you set out on your voyage, I'll take you through the basics." Monita said to Jenn.

"Hey!" Jenn exclaimed, "…b-but what are you doing there to the other side of the—! What the hell is going on? I look hideous in this outfit!"

"Jenn! It's the Nintendo World!" Jace exclaimed, "Expect the unexpected!"

"Easy for you to say." Jenn grumbled.

"Just try to get a feel for flying!" Monita complained. Jenn shook her head, not knowing what to say.

Monita turned to Jace, "Here." her one hand summoned out a WiiU Gamepad. The Gamepad dropped to Jace's hands. "Whoa! What the—!"

"Help your girlfriend out would ya?" Monita said.

"She's not my girlfriend." Jace said.

"To make a breeze blow, slide the stylus or your finger on the touch screen. The wind will propel you in the direction that you slide."

Jace's jaws dropped at the Gamepad's screen, "OH MY GASH, JENN! You're so CUTE on the Gamepad!"

"I AM ON THE GAMEPAD?!" Jenn's eyes took golf balls shape.

Jace grinned mischievously. He swiped his finger across the GamePad and a powerful wind slapped Jenn off the ground, to the air. "HEEY, what the—!" She screamed, "JAAACE! Jace, what are you doi—! JAAAACE!"

Her body propelled across the river. Just as she was about to land, Jace swiped his finger on the GamePad again and she propelled the other direction, "JAAAAAACCCE!"

"Nice flyin'." Monita said to Jace.

"I AM NOT FLYIIIIIIIING!" Jenn barked.

"Love the torture too." Monita said.

"Thanks." Jace sniggered, "I've been practicing for that day."

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR THIIIIIIIIIIS!" Jenn's roar filled the distant skies, her body unable to control the force of the wind.

"Girl, stop complaining and be one with the wind." Jace said, unable to contain his excitement.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

**xXx**

**Back at New York City, Macy's Store**

Bowser sported a beige jumpsuit and his Christmas hat was replaced with a matching cap. The mop on the dirty water bucket was choking by his clenched claws.

"Everytime!" Bowser barked, "Mario ruins things for me EVERYTIME! When I kidnap the princess, there he is. When I take over a party, there he is AGAIN! And now I wanna do something cheerful for this community of misfits, and there. he. is. again."

"Excuse me, sir. My son wants to get your auto—!"

"GRAAAAAWWWWWLLLL!"

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" the parent and the kid took off in a mad dash.

Ganondorf turned back to Bowser, "Way to give cheers to the community."

"I'm not in a mood."

"So?" Ganondorf said, "What do you do? You retaliate. That's what villains do."

"But I don't wanna be a bad guy anymore."

Ganondorf's eyes widened. Then Bowser muttered, "And that's the part where I spit fire after choking on my coffee. Yeah, I've watched my movie too. So sue me."

"Please tell me you're joking."

Bowser dropped the mop on the ground, "Of course I'm joking." He cracked his knuckles, "I'm not gonna take no for an answer. I'm taking over this Macy's Store one way or another."

Bowser walked back to the circular desk when he felt a little body bumped into his knee. Bowser stopped and looked down. It was a five-year old girl. She looked at Bowser with a mix of fear and tears in her eyes.

"Sowwy Mr. Dragon Sir…" The girl whined.

Bowser knelt before the girl, and bared his sharp teeth, forming a smile, "Aww, it's okay, wittle girl! Don't cry…"

Yoshi caught sight of Bowser with the little girl. Pit and Kirby were with him, watching warily.

"You scawy." The little girl sniffled.

Bowser shook his head, "Oh nooo. I am not a scary dragon." Bowser glanced at Yoshi, Pit, and Kirby from one eye's corner, "I'm a _weally_ _weally_ good _dwagon_." He looked back at the little girl, "And I got a wittle gift just for you." He gently tapped the girl's nose, but his sharp claw drew a scratch on it. The little girl flinched in pain. "Ow…"

Bowser pulled from out of nowhere a gold bracelet. The little girl's sniffling face lit up like a glittering ornament.

"Here's a gold bracelet for you! It used to belong to my adopted daughter Wendy." Bowser said, "Now it's yours."

Bowser dropped the bracelet to the girl's neck, but it went through her tiny body to the ground. The girl stepped off the bracelet and picked it up with two hands. "THANK YOU MISTER DWAGON!"

Ganondorf saw the little girl's mother quickly approaching. She grabbed her little girl and scurried away without a word.

Bowser stood up and turned to Yoshi, Pit and Kirby who have been watching the whole scenario.

"See?" Bowser said, "I'm good to wittle gi—ahem! I mean, _little_ girls."

"Yeah." Pit muttered.

"Ohh…" Yoshi groaned, _[You sure are.]_

Kirby just smiled.

"Now," Bowser slammed his arm on the desk, barring his haughty teeth, "about my promotion…"

Ganondorf rolled his eyes.

Pit summoned his bow and arrow, drew the arrow and fired. The arrow zipped across the store to the perfume and fragrance department, shattering through a line of them, flooding and permeating the department with perfumes.

Bowser's jaws dropped at the mess from afar. One fragrance dangled on the counter before taking its fall. The Koopa King turned to Pit, growling.

"Clean up on Aisle Smell!" Pit grinned.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**


	12. Special:: Christmas in 3D - Part 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_Christmas in 3D_

_**part 2**  
_

* * *

**Back at the Plaza's Imperial Suite**

Hunt came down the stairs, greeted by a hot, spicy, penetrating smell of cinnamon, pepper, and fire all mixed together. His frown creased as he slowly moved to the kitchen. A loud whistle from a kettle filled the kitchen. Then he heard a click.

Peach turned around carrying a red kettle. He could see smoke immersing from it. "Oh hello dear!" she greeted him, "Care for some delicious Fire Flower Tea? They're extra spicy."

"Mhn!" Mai-Lee sat her tea cup on the table, catching her breath from drinking it, "…they really are," She flapped her hands over her mouth. "…and it's so hot, but I can't stop drinking it!"

"Peach, are you sure you want to serve us more tea?" complained Dr. Dimentio who sat next to Mai-Lee. He tugged on his collar, "it's really… hot."

Donkey and Diddy Kong grunted together, flapping their hands over their burning mouths as well. Diddy grabbed a flower vase, threw the flower away and dunk its water to his mouth. Smokes emitted from the chimp's tongue as he let a sigh of relief.

"Oh come now, everyone. Hot tea is very good for you." Peach said cheerfully, ignoring Donkey Kong searching through the utensils drawers for something to scrape off the hotness from his tongue.

"Can't we just wait for at least an hour?" Dimentio whined, "Or four? My mouth has been on fire for the past forty-five minutes!"

"It means it's working!" Peach lit up. "Don't use the meat freezer, Donkey Kong. You'll freeze your tongue dry."

DK angrily slammed the top freezer door and glared at Peach. "GRRRR…"

Hunt sat at the table, "I'll have some tea myself, thank you."

Mai-Lee laid a sympathetic hand to Hunt's hand, "Oh, honey. I'm sorry you gonna have to miss Christmas without your parents. And now you reduced yourself to the point of drinking really hot teas."

Hunt grinned, "Ms. Yasurio. It's not like I'm drinking a bottle of beer or anything. It's just tea."

Mai leaned in close to Hunt, "really hot tea." She whispered, frowning.

"On the bright side, you have us." Dr. Dimentio reassured, "Not that we're your parents but, Jace and Jenn don't have their father or mother so that's a good thing."

Mai-Lee glared back at Dimentio.

"N-not that it's a good _good _thing…" Dimentio stammered, noticing the glare, "it's just that…well… nevermind."

"Of course it's not a good thing." Hunt replied, "Would've been a good thing if Jace's dad was still alive and Jenn's mom didn't dump you for that British model…" he shook his head, noticing Dimentio's glaring, "…not that it's a bad thing."

Dimentio narrowed his eyes, completely hurt by Hunt's protest. Mai-Lee grinned, "Well, looks like the shoe's on the other butt now huh?"

"Other foot." Dimentio corrected.

"I say it like it is."

"I believe some tea should take your mind off things." Peach poured her tea into an empty teacup before Hunt. The Cinnamon aroma stirred Hunt's watery mouth. "Thanks Peach." The young geek carefully picked up his cup, took a sip, and placed it back on the table, completely ignoring Mai-Lee and Dimentio's silent protests and gestures not to drink it.

"Maybe it's not too late. If they can't come home for Christmas, they should be here for the New Yee—EEAAAAOOOOOW!"

Hunt cut his sentence off short as a shrilling hot flame completely wrapped his tongue up. Tears suddenly poured down his cheeks and he furiously flapped his hands over his mouth, "MY MOUTH! MY MOU—!"

He pushed his chair out of the way and ran for the kitchen's sink. He turned on the faucet and dunked his whole mouth to the gushing water. Immediately, DK and Diddy went for the freezer to cool their mouths with frozen meat bags.

Peach looked hurt, "Is my Fire Flower Tea _really _that bad?"

Mai-Lee and Dimentio faced Peach's sadden, almost teary look, then at each other.

"Noooooo…!" they squealed. "Of course not!" Dimentio said, "Absolutely the best tea yet!" Mai-Lee said, "You're exaggerating…" Dimentio added.

Peach lit up, "Oh!" she lay a hand on her chest, smiling broadly, "Oh, that is so nice of you to be honest. Perhaps I should make some more just for the two of you."

Mai and Dimentio jumped off their seats, "There's a sale I gotta go to!" Mai was out the door, "I have diarrhea!" Dimentio scurried upstairs.

xXx

**Back at NintendoLand**

"Looks like you're ready for takeoff. Good luck."

Monita wished this to Jenn. She and Jace stood beside each other and a couple of Miis were with them, enjoying each other's company while waiting for the takeoff.

"Ready to break wind Jenn?" Jace asked his cousin with a hint of teasing. Jenn glared back as the Miis chuckled. Jace quickly held back, cleared his throat and turned to the Gamepad. He flicked across the Gamepad and Jenn took off into the sky. She stretched up to the bell and rang it. The Miis cheered her on.

Jace drew the wind around Jenn, as Jenn moved in with the wind, heading for the green balloons. She managed to collect at least twenty and landed for the first finish line podium. Then the afternoon came and it got a bit hectic with spiky balls hovering before her. Jace managed to guide her wind around the obstacles with ease, up to the finish line podium again.

"Hey, we're getting the hang of this!" Jenn said.

"I know right?" Jace said, "Very soon we'll have enough coins to go to Osaka and get Hunt's parents!"

"Don't cheer up just yet." Monita warned.

The Night section came and things got hectic. There were more spiky balls before Jenn and the wind was against Jace. Jace tried moving Jenn forward but she kept being pushed back by the rivaling wind. Jace's hands turned damp and shaky. Jenn had a huge lump on her throat. Jace swiped across the Gamepad, accidentally wisking Jenn to a spiky ball.

**PAF!**

"Ooops!"

"JACE!"

"S-sorry. I'm just—!" Jace wiped his hands on his shirt, "…really nervous."

"Well, don't be." Jenn said, "You can do this. It's not like it's gonna rain."

Right on cue, a downpour showered on Jenn and pounded the water below her. She glared back at Monita and her cousin.

"Hey, don't look at us! You wished for rain!" Monita said, haughtily twirling an umbrella over her head.

"Just hang in there okay?" Jace reassured. "Let me deal with this. We're almost at the finish line!" He turned back to the Gamepad and carefully navigated the wind for Jenn to follow. She flew past electrical spiky balls and collected more green balloons.

Finally Jenn landed on another finish podium and fireworks cracked the skies. The Miis cheered and Jace wiped his brow, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Jenn looked back at her cousin, "That was close huh?"

"So close." Jace smiled back.

"Morning time now!" Monita said, "It's not over."

Jenn took off into the sky again and Jace once again took control of the Gamepad for wind control.

"I think we're in good form, don't you think?" Jenn asked.

"Watch out for that swinging duck!" Jace suddenly warned.

"Where?" she looked around and spotted the approaching duck, its balloons attached to him.

"What the—?" Jenn exclaimed, "Get me outta here, Jace!"

Jace flicked across the screen and the breeze moved Jenn quickly away from the enemy. The enemy turned around and charged again at Jenn.

"Why is that duck coming at me?" Jenn complained.

"He's the enemy. Here. I'll guide your route." Jace looked back at the control pad and drew the wind across Jenn. Jenn saw herself flying toward clouds of spikes.

"Jaaace…!"

"Hold on!"

A flick of the screen and Jenn flew up. The swinging duck charged toward the cloud of spikes… but breezed right through.

"WHAT?!" Jace's jaws dropped, "He went through?"

"JAAACE!" Jenn screamed, her balloons inched closer to another bed of spikes. Jace startled.

**PAF!**

The Miis gasped. The swinging duck continued its rampage across the skies full of spikey balls, and none of them couldn't hurt him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"JACE, FOCUS! I DON'T WANNA—!" Jenn cut herself short to scream. "THE DUCK IS COMING RIGHT AT ME!"

"Move away!" Jace exclaimed, drawing furiously at the Gamepad, "Faster! Faster! Faster!"

The wind pulled Jenn across the screen and toward more bed of spiky balls. The swinging duck was getting closer and closer. Jenn flew up, away from the duck, but the balls proved impossible to dodge. She screamed again.

**PAF!**

Jace winced, shoulders raised with ache as he watched his cousin plunge into the water.

"Jenn?" No response. "Jenn, are you okay?"

Jenn replied with a bloodcurdling scream and the jaws of a whale snapping ferociously on the pounding waters. Jace winced, watching in horror the whale attacking Jenn.

"Oh, don't worry, player." Monita said, "This is Fantasy Violence. So your girlfriend should be fine."

Jace rolled his eyes, "She's my cousin."

"Motato, Motata."

xXx

**New York City**

"Hard to believe that they just sold me half off on that diamond cut tiara!" Maple gushed, waving her blinged-up tiara from her Kohl's Shopping Bag, "Now I'll always feel like a princess!"

"I feel more like one with this stylish English hat." Pat gushed as well, revealing from her bag a long European-style hat of teal color and a veil. She sported it and briefly posed. Maple dropped her shopping bag and pulled out her camera to snap a quick pic of her friend.

Her cherishing smile faded before Pat, "oh…"

"What?" Pat asked, noticing her friend's sudden change of mood. She turned around, "what is it?"

Maple pointed toward a table near a Starbucks coffee shop. The person sitting solo there caught their attention.

"Isn't that Noir Deroi?"

"That spiffy Nintendo executive?" Pat replied, "what about him?"

"He looks…" Maple cocked her head on one side, "…like he could use some company." She concluded.

Noir was reading a section of a newspaper while sipping on something hot with one hand. He briefly peered around the happy shoppers going about their businesses: couples embracing, children laughing with parents, fans sporting holiday costumes and hats… yet his face carried no cheers by the contagious atmosphere. Just complete seriousness.

"You're right." Pat said, "Shall we go say hi?" Pat went for the table but Maple grabbed her by the arm, stopping her, "What? No!" She protested, "Just because he needs some company doesn't mean we have to give him some. Besides, Jace doesn't like him, remember?"

Pat shrugged, "So?" She said, "Whether they like each other or not is none of our business. But talking to and getting an autograph from an actual Nintendo executive is twice our businesses as meeting Santa Claus. Come on."

As the girls approached, Noir felt his cellphone ring on his pocket. He pulled it out, unlocked it and answered the call. "Shoot." He said, reclining on his chair.

He paused, listening to the person on the other line.

"Yes." He said vehemently, "That's exactly what I said, have all the financial report for the fiscal year period prepared as soon as possible and I want it done before the New Year rolls up. No pressure."

Pause.

"Even on Christmas."

Pause. This time, that pause was shorter. He frowned and sat up.

"I don't care it is a holiday. People _do_ work on Christmas Day, y'know? I mean, have you heard of Scrooge? Charles Dickens' story? And don't argue with me about HIM taking the day off after he saw three ghosts because believe me, there's no such thing as three Christmas ghosts. It's a fantasy novel. Not a reality show. Now chop-chop! Get to it."

He hung up the phone, pursing his lips in a mocking way, "whah-whah-whah…Christmas is a holiday…ugh… puh-lease."

He looked up. Pat and Maple were before him, grinning. He gazed at them from head to toe, and then back to head, "What do you want?"

"Didn't mean to overhear, but you're having your colleagues work on Christmas Day?"

"It's the Corporation's biggest Fiscal Year Financial report." Noir argued, "It needs to be done in tiptop shape." He stood up and gently pressed his shirt, "Now," he cleared his throat, "Who do I have the pleasure to speak with?"

"I'm Pat and this is my best friend Maple." Pat introduced, "You're Noir Deroi, right?"

Noir served the girls an eyebrow flash. Pat giggled, "Hi, how you doin'? Listen. We wanted to get your autograph, but now I think that I have a bigger thing in mind for you."

Maple turned to Pat, "What?"

Noir frowned curiously. Pat turned to Maple, her smile still on, "Yes." She said, "Remember we're supposed to be going to the Herald Square Macy's?"

"Yeah, but not with Noir." Maple argued and quickly turned to Noir, "No offense."

"None taken." Noir said, "I hate shopping."

"You don't have to!" Pat exclaimed, "You can just window shop! And Santa's gonna be at that store anyway!"

"What?" Noir muttered. But before he could react, Pat yanked him off his table and excitedly dragged him to the street. "Come on!" she exclaimed. Maple followed behind, not liking this.

xXx

Noir and the girls entered the Macy's store. Customers filled every corner of the store by the second. And the ornaments, tinsels, and garlands hug these corners. The employees spotted were nothing but Nintendo characters. Yoshi was tending with the general customers service. Zelda and Link were spotted at the makeup and fragrance department.

"I really hate shopping." Noir grumbled. "Can I just go back to work? I have lots of stuff to do like completing a financial report and sabotaging a 3DS thief."

"Noir." Pat began, "All work and no play make _Noir_ a stupid boy."

Noir frowned, "excuse me?"

"Now come on!" Pat grabbed his hand and dragged him further down the store, "We got some holiday shopping to do!"

Link stared at a nearby clock and sighed. He had on a gas mask, the shape of the Mazora Mask on his face, "what's taking the custodial services so long?" he huffed, "He got a mess of perfumes to clean up."

"Good thing this Justin Bieber _Someday _fragrance didn't fell off." Zelda showed Link a perfume bottle with a rose-shaped lid.

Link cocked his head on one side, "So what's so special about a fragrance made by a kid? It's not like he's a wizard or something."

"True." Zelda said, "But I've heard that a whiff of it can enchant a girl to love you."

"Like pheromone?"

The stomping of Bowser was heard closing in. "Hey…"

Zelda and Link were now standing next to the colossal Koopa. "I'm here." He grumbled under his breath. "What do you want me to clean? This whole bath of body stink?"

Noir, Maple and Pat were approaching.

"HEY, BOWSER!" Pit shouted from afar, catching all attention, "YOU MISSED A SPOT!"

Another light arrow zipped past the stunned customers and attendants and struck the Someday fragrance. The bottle flew into millions of shards and a huge cloud of fresh light jasmine fruits permeated the already perfume-toxicated air.

Bowser dropped his mop, his now drugged eyes slowly fluttered and his body lightly moved. The smell flew right into Noir's nose and the young businessman tried to keep his eyes open. Meanwhile, the Macy's crowd coughed and sneezed. Their eyes watered and squinted. The perfume combo smell was just WAY too much.

One girl turned her attention to Bowser and dropped her purse. Bowser met her olive enchanted eyes.

"OHH…MY… GOSH… IS THAT…?!"

"H-huh?" Bowser squinted.

"IT'S BOWSER BIEBER!"

"WHAT?!" Bowser barked.

Another girl screamed, "GET HIM!" and soon a stampede of screaming teenage girls pounced on Bowser, knocking him down the floor like lions over a helpless gazelle. Bowser screamed. His janitorial uniform, his hair, his horns and even some of his scaly skin flew everywhere. Link and Zelda tried to get the girls off Bowser but to no avail. Link got pulled into the menace. Zelda stood by helplessly. She looked around and quickly teleported out with her Farore's Wind.

Noir suddenly felt an unpleasant feeling. A sudden presence like he was being watched. He slowly turned around and right across the aisle was a brown-haired girl grinning with her tongue sticking out between her teeth. The feeling grew closer. He turned to his other side and there were two more girls grinning creepily: a blonde and a redhead. He turned to the front and there was a group of them, giggling! Maple and Pat noticed the gazes.

"Get me out of here now, before I end up suing you girls for possible assault from teenage freaks." He hissed.

Maple pulled out an umbrella and swung around like a sword. "Excuse me! Single file! MOVE IT!" the customers and the creepy girls watching moved out of the way, letting the trio escape the mall.

xXx

**Back in Nintendoland**

"It is time for us to begin today's throwing-star training." Monita spoke, looking fine in a geisha-like costume.

She swerved to one side to reveal a Taiko Drum next to her. "As a warm up, let's use the Taiko drum as our target."

Jace, sporting the Samurai outfit of Takamaru, briefly stared at the Shuriken and then back at the drum. He moved his arm back and swept it across, releasing the stars. The stars shattered the drum.

"Well done!" Monita said, "Thrown straight and true! I expected no less, Master Jace."

"Oh whatever. Can we just get on with the attraction?" Jenn complained.

Jace slowly turned to Jenn. She looked half-naked with her clothes torn in long threads of shred, and her hair dried and covered with split ends and algae.

"Have a little patience, Jennie-San." Jace calmly spoke with a native Asian accent, "Monita-San here is trying to teach us the art… of slicing people from afar." He finished with a smile.

Jenn rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest, "Oh please. You just wanna slice people out of anger for losing the Balloon Trip."

Jace snorted, grinning, "Well, at least I'm not the one who has anger issues on being fishfood."

Monita chortled.

Jenn raised her upper eyelids in a stare. Jace stopped smiling and gulped. "That came out all wrong." He quickly said.

"Awkward." Monita muttered before she flew into the sky and vanished. Next thing Jace knew he was standing right before a curtain. An ancient Chinese beat played around them and the curtain shifted open.

Jace found himself in front of the Ninja Castle Gate. Cherry blossom trees and wooden lanterns lined up the pavement before him and the castle was in full view by the clear moon.

"Jenn?" No one was spotted. He then turned around, "Monita?"

A Ninja zipped from a cherry tree. Jace whirled around. A Shuriken flew straight for his face, "WHOA!" he ducked. The Shuriken sliced a huge chunk of his spiky hair. About five Ninjas moved in stacks before him, Shuriken on hands.

"HEEY! Look what you did to my ha—!" Another Shuriken flew at him, "HAAA!" he dodged again, but another chunk of hair got sliced by the Shuriken and dropped like a pile of hay. Quickly more Shuriken flew by, thrown by these wooden hands. He rolled out of the way, twisting through the cascade, receiving minor slashes.

He dropped near a tree and chucked a pair of four Shurikens back. Some Shuriken littered the floor while some clashed with each other in a one-second battle; their rippling sound resonated the clear night. Some cut through the ninjas enemies like piece of cardboard and exploded into many splinters.

More Ninjas showed up before him, about a dozen of them. Jace felt choked by the numbers, but he pressed. Another set of Shuriken zipped past him at blinding speed, cutting through his clothes and sharp slices across his torso and legs. He cried out in pain. More Ninjas took that chance to charge and dozens of Shuriken went flying. More littered the floor and more dug into his muscles.

Another set sped for his face. He bent back, Matrix-style. The Shuriken barely touched his nose tip. Jace back-flipped, catching his balance. More Shuriken breezed through his clothes as he flipped and twisted into the air. Briefly suspended into the skies, he took a quick glance at his enemies. He swung his arms, releasing his Shuriken. One by one, the Ninjas exploded into wood splits. And one by one, the incoming Shuriken dropped to the ground after one contact with Jace's Shuriken.

Jace dropped back on solid ground on one knee. "JACE, LOOK OUT!" Jenn's warning forced Jace to look back. A bomb was flying toward him. He cartwheeled and leapt over the bomb. Two hands grabbed the bomb and just as he landed, swung his arms across his chest, releasing the bomb back to more Ninjas!

The explosion lit up the courtyard and consumed the Ninjas into a bellowing hellfire.

"BEHIND YOU!"

Jace felt a breath on his neck. He whizzed around and swung his Shuriken-equipped arm.

"AAAH!" A sharp blade cut a deep wound across his arm. The Shuriken dropped on the floor and he staggered back, clutching his bleeding arm. He ominously stared back at a sword-wielding samurai in a dark-blue costume standing before him.

"KYAAA!" The Samurai raised his blade above his head and with a battle cry struck at his shoulder. "WHOA!" Jace jumped back. But the ninja wasn't done. He slashed across his chest. Jace bent back. Another sword slash. He moved his other arm down, attempting to block. The blade thinly sliced it through his shirt. He slipped to the side. The samurai rushed at him, snarling for the kill.

"I NEED A SWORD HERE!" Jace cried out. The samurai drove his sword across Jace's chest. Jace brought up his wrist, blocking his opponent's swinging arm then swung a fist across the samurai's face. The samurai flew to the graveled ground, exploding into thousands of splinters. Enemy was defeated.

Jace hunched over, gasping and breathing heavily.

"JACE!" Jenn shouted behind him. He soon heard the pounding of her heels and there she was, on her knees before him within the second. She gasped at the wound on his arms, "oh no…"

"Very good, Master Jace." Monita was heard a few feet from the two cousins. "Using your samurai skills without a sword. You proved yourself quite the master."

Jace turned to Monita who towered over him and Jenn. "Proved myself?" He glowered, "I almost got KILLED out here!"

"And all to make a special Christmas wish come true for a friend." Monita cooed, "Oh how sweet of a true friend you are. If I were human, I'd cry."

Jenn said nothing but gave Monita a really mean look.

"But hey," Monita went on, "this is Fantasy Violence. So you should be fine." She turned to Jenn, "Isn't that right, bottle blonde?"

"I'm brunette."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I nicknamed you just that. Teehee." Monita laughed. Jenn's jaws dropped. "Anyway, ONE WINNING SCORE FOR NINJA CASTLE!"

xXx

**Back in New York**

Maple, Pat and Noir entered the Manhattan Mall Food Court. They were greeted by a great holiday centerpiece of red, green and white colors. There were about ten large tables of red velvet sheet and many pearl-white chairs with green cushions. Beautiful red Poinsettia bouquets and candles stood in the middle of the table. There were about two of them on each table. A grand onyx-black piano was tucked right before the Mall Christmas tree and there was a great red throne right next to it on a tall podium. Santa Claus was to take his seat there.

Maple, Pat and Noir noticed Dr. Dimentio, Mai-Lee, and Daniel speaking to a couple of gentlemen wearing suits and carrying clipboards. Hunt was with the group. The young geek turned to their direction and waved hello to the girls and Noir.

"Do I really have to be here?" Noir muttered under his breath, "I have work to focus."

"The Mall is hosting a Christmas Family Dinner to all customers at the Mall tomorrow Christmas Eve." Pat announced, "So it'll really help you get over your workaholic addiction."

"And the Smash Brothers are gonna be there!" Maple said cheerfully, "Isn't that awesome?"

"Awesome sauce." Pat replied.

Noir briefly gazed at the centerpiece, almost as if he was hypnotized by the lights and decors of the place and the smile in every person's face he saw, including the little children passing by with their adult families.

He shook his head, snapping back to reality, "Maybe for you. But not for me." He turned around and walked away, "I'm out. And don't even try to force me."

"Hey, where're you going?" Pat called out but no response from Noir. She grinned, "Jace is not here in the mall, y'know?"

Maple turned to Pat, "What are you talking about? He could be anywhere."

"What? I'm just trying to get him back here!"

"What was that all about?" asked Hunt, approaching the girls. The girls turned to him. Hans was with him also.

"Did you drove your boyfriend out to a lousy date and he's now standing you up?" Hans mocked, his attention on Maple.

Pat chortled. Maple stared back with widen eyelid and a frowned nose. Pat stopped laughing, "…sorry."

Maple turned back to Hans, "And a Merry Christmas to you too Hans." She said to him, gnashing her teeth. "I hope you get a lot of coals on your stocking comes Christmas Eve!" she turned around and walked away. Pat immediately followed.

"I'll make sure I'll send you some as an After-Christmas gift." Hans called out.

Hunt shook his head, "You just love to tease her don't you?"

"No I like to bully her." He replied before looking around, "Where are Jace and Jenn anyway?"

Hunt shrugged, "I dunno!" he said, "I haven't seen them for quite a while now. I'm starting to worry. Maybe they're at Macy's with the Smash Brothers."

xXx

**Back at Macy's**

Bowser was still being pummeled by the thousands of kids and obsessed popstar fangirls who smelled the mix of perfume.

"Now that's what Christmas is all about!" Falco smiled broadly as he was watching alongside Fox, "Kids using a giant turtle as a piñata!"

Fox turned to him, "No, it's about joy and peace and kids getting presents from Santa Claus."

Falco rolled his eyes, "Okay. But if there's no Santa Claus in this store, then giant turtle piñata it is."

A bell was heard jingling. All heads turned to its source. Kirby, sporting a Christmas hat, had the bell on hand, jingling it by the Macy's exit.

"Yeah! Santa Claus!" one kid squealed and the crowd departed from Bowser, rushing out of the store, their parents with them. Bowser tried to stand up but wobbled on his feet, dazedly walking. Ganondorf approached him just as the Koopa finally lost his balance and fell on his face.

Ganondorf knelt before him, "See, when I say that something is a bad idea, it is a bad idea." He claimed.

"Don't mock me, warlock." Bowser grunted.

"Bowser?!" The voice of Mario made Bowser's red hair jump. The plumber was right behind him with a clipboard and notepad. Luigi stood next to him.

"Mamamia, sleeping on the job? Really?" Mario exclaimed.

He shook his head, clicked his pen and scribbled on his pad. "I'm-a sorry Bowser but you are-a not a potential asset to the Nintendo mission to bring a cheery merry Christmas to all of our Macy's shoppers."

Bowser jumped up, "What the-?!" He blinked, "Wh-what are you saying?"

"I'm-a gonna have to relieve you of your duties." Mario said.

"That means 'You're fired.' in-a sugarcoating language." Luigi said.

Bowser remained jaw-dropped.

"Luigi will have you pack up your things." Mario added, "Perhaps it is-a for the best."

"Now before we fill your dismissal paperwork, are-a you registered with the union?" Luigi asked.

Bowser's face turned ripe like a tomato and his fist clenched hard like stones. "THAT'S IT! That is IT!"

The Koopa snapped the mop in half and kicked the water bucket with his tail, spilling its content all across the aisle. Both Mario and Luigi stared with blanched faces. Ganondorf pursed his lips. Soon Bowser's rampage got the attention of others and the store.

"I'M TAKING OVER THIS STORE!" Bowser snatched the clipboard from Mario and crushed it with his claws. "If that's what's gonna take to get shoppers to have a frigging holiday experience, then so be it! I'll do it the evil way! Or better yet, I'LL TAKE OVER THE CITY!"

Bowser's eyes glowed golden before his body transformed to a great abomination known as Giga Bowser. Giga Bowser turned to Mario and Luigi and flicked them with only a middle finger. Screaming Mario and Luigi flew straight through a wall and everyone stared at their body-shaped holes on the store.

The shoppers slowly turned to Giga Bowser. Giga Bowser slammed a colossal feet and bellowed, "WHAT-!" and the crowd spread out to many directions with sheer panic before he could finish his sentence, "...ARE YOU LOOKING AT?"

Bowser and Ganondorf watched the chaos unfold.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed." Ganondorf said with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I should've done that years ago." Bowser grumbled, "now…" he whipped his head to a nearby customer, "…HURRY UP with your shopping!"

The customer took off screaming.

xXx

"Cancel your Christmas Party, Tony." Noir spoke to his guy on the phone, "We're getting this financial statement started now. No more Christmas excuses or I'll have you fired."

He hung up. He gazed across the large mall atrium, searching for the Exit sign. But all he saw before him was more children and their parents, a giant gingerbread house and some fake snow before him. One explanation to this jolly mess: Santa Claus was visiting.

"NOIR! Where are you?"'

He heard Maple and Pat call out to him. He squeezed through the crowd of families and little children until he ended up right in line with them. "Oh, shucks."

"Hooo! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!"

There was that jolly laugh in his ears. He looked further down and he saw him: the fat man in the fat red velvet suit with white fluffy edgings. Santa Claus. He narrowed his eyes.

"Hooo! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa chuckled, welcoming two kids to his lap. The kids' faces were like a radiating happy sun at the mere sight of him. Noir's however looked like a dark ghastly shadow.

"Hooo! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!"

"Hey!" he shouted, catching the jolly old man's attention. All heads no longer focused on the happy Father Christmas but on the cranky uninvited Grinch in a business suit, "Why are you always happy?"

"Oh?" Santa raised his brow.

Noir pushed his way up to the front, ignoring complaints from those who still waited in line, "Look, just because you're one pound away to a heart attack, doesn't mean you have to be happy all the time."

The crowd was appalled but Noir was just getting started, "Sheesh, Santa; everybody has their own problem, even you. So how about you get rid of that bowl of jelly you call a stomach before you care for the bloody children and their needs."

The two kids squealed in tears, and soon a great loud bawling filled the court. The parents ran to them and try to console them but to no avail. The other parents in line also had no luck. Anger and curses soon got in the mix.

Santa Claus stood up and approached Noir, "Hey look buddy." He growled, his voice no longer Santa, but a grumpy old man, "Nobody wants to see a sour puss in this here mall, okay? So take a hike!"

"Oh, so now you wanna talk sourpuss? How about you check a mirror?" Noir pulled out his phone and opened the camera app. He then yanked the beard off the Santa costume man, "There's one growing on your chin."

Santa stared at his reflection on the app. His jaws dropped at the red pimple sticking out of his chin. The children now screamed in terror and everyone except Noir, Maple, and Pat spread out in a furious dash.

Noir let go off the beard and it smacked right back to the guy's chin. The Santa guy plopped to the ground as Noir walked out of the mall. Maple and Pat ran after him.

"Hey, Noir! Where're you going? Wait up!" Pat whined. Maple stopped and turned to the Santa guy who was still on the floor. She grinned, "I am so sorry Santa. You're still a very nice man and..."

The cranky Santa guy suddenly sat up growling. Startled Maple jumped back and ran out.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**


	13. Special:: Christmas in 3D - Part 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_Christmas in 3D_

_**part 3**  
_

* * *

**Rockefeller Center**

The sky turned a dark bluish shade and the chilly winter cold breezed over again as the moon was once again about to watch over the busy city night of New York before Christmas Eve. The many sparkling lights of the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree once again took radiance before the citizens.

"MUAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

The entire City watched Bowser on his Clown-copter right before the Rockefeller Plaza's gleaming Christmas tree that Christmas Eve. All bypassers stopped to watch.

"LADIES AND FREAKS OF NATURE! I, Bowser Koopa, am taking over your Christmas shopping experience!"

Fireworks exploded behind Bowser like a spectacular show.

"Ohh, you better watch it! You better watch out! You better watch your back, and I'll tell you why! Bowser is taking over this TOWN!"

Another explosive firework rocked the plaza. The citizens turned unease. Some in the crowd already took off in a panic.

"I see you when you're shopping!" He turned one eye at a female shopper, "I know when you do save!" He turned to another shopper comparing items in online shopping.

He then turned to a kid with a PS3. "I know when you've been bad or good." He took the console from his hand and quickly replaced it with a Wii U. "So PICK THIS ONE, or I'll pound you to PASTE!"

The kid cried tears of fear.

Soon the entire Rock Plaza got invaded by Koopas and Goombas, wearing Santa hats and Reindeers antlers respectively. The enemies dragged the shoppers into the plaza to do more shopping. Those resisting were tackled mercilessly to the ground.

"Come on out and buy everything you want for your not-so-loved ones this holiday at Bowser's Emporium!" Bowser exclaimed, "Better than that Smash Brothers Macy's bull! Save 0.5% off ALL items when you buy WHATEVER YOU WANT! Sale mandatory! EVERYONE MUST BUY! Or else!"

Shoppers credit cards got maxed out. The latest gadgets and toys got gift wrapped. Those who couldn't afford five presents under one budget in the past ended up buying ten or more. As shoppers were buying, Beetles and Hammer Bros. were recording sales account like crazy. Papers printed everywhere.

Shoppers got their abysmal 0.5% vouchers and when they didn't want to use it, Magikoopas would show up and inflict a spell on them, making them hungry for more shopping.

"BOWSER!"

Bowser turned around. Mario, Luigi, Kirby, Link, Zelda, Yoshi, Pit, and Pikachu entered the busy plaza. They stared briefly at the plaza getting overwhelmed by shoppers being dragged against their wills to shop and making kids freakishly ecstatic to get twice the toys before Christmas.

"Mamamia! What are-a you doing?" Mario exclaimed.

Link unsheathed his sword, "Forcing citizens to do a shopping spree for you is strictly prohibited."

"You'll end up spending Christmas in jail." Pit added, "You wanna spend Christmas in jail?"

"No but I'm hoping to get a whole bunch of sales happening for ME!" Bowser grinned from ear to ear. "See, my mission was to get children to like me. But instead, I decided to take over the plaza, open my Macy's lookalike business and make sure everyone shop at my business so that kids will have their Christmas presents twice the size and I get some moolah!" Bowser laughed.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true evil sent to me LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY AND POWER!"

The Smash Bros. just stared, dot-eyed.

"I don't think Bowser will make the Nice list again this year." Pit whispered to Kirby, Yoshi and Pikachu. The trio shook their heads mutually. "No-no." Yoshi whimpered. "Waoh." Kirby sighed. "Pikachu..." Pikachu grumbled.

While the citizens were dealing with Bowser's Christmas sale forced upon them, Maple and Pat found Noir at one corner of the Plaza. He was on his phone again.

"All right." Noir spoke gently, "I'm sorry I made you snap at me like that. I understand it's Christmas and you have an eight-year old kid wanting this really hot toy for Christmas and you to play that toy with him. So let me make this easier for you."

Maple and Pat listened attentively. Noir leaned a bit, his lips real close to the cell's speaker, "clear your desk by 5PM tomorrow. 'Cuz you're fired. Any questions?" Pause, "Good. I'd like the sound of that. Total utter silence."

Noir hung up his phone and stuffed it back to his pocket. He was about to walk away when the girls stepped in.

"Noir! What the heck?" Pat exclaimed, "That wasn't nice!"

Noir rolled his eyes. "Would it kill you to stop following me? You're bad luck."

"How are we bad luck?" Maple argued.

"Err, for starters, the girls staring at me back at that store with hungry predator eyes. And then there's that fat red man."

"Santa Claus?" Maple said, "You insulted him."

"So?" Noir said, "he deserved it. Don't you have some shopping to do? Bowser is having an infinite Christmas sale, which I really am having a hard time picturing Bowser having a SALE. Especially on Christmas." He frowned, "what? Did he drank too much eggnog, he got intoxicated by it?"

The girls just stared. Before Noir knew it, they formed a smile at him. He blinked, then he frowned, "what?"

"Now we know what your problem is." Pat said.

"Yeah!" Maple beamed, "You're shop sick! You need to do some more shopping to cure yourself off it."

Pat and Noir gazed strangely at Maple. Pat shook her head, "nooo..." She turned back to Noir, "You hate Christmas."

"What?" Maple gasped.

"No I don't!" Noir glowered in denial.

"Yeah you do." Pat objected.

"Nooo. I don't!" Noir snapped, "I just hate the fact that I see people all cheery and merry and bright with their families, when the only family I have out there is my egotistic workaholic maniac of a father who's back in Washington and don't give a care about Christmas."

Noir's eyes suddenly widened. Pat and Maple gazed at each other, grinning. They turned back to Noir.

"So that's the problem. You have the Christmas blues." Pat revealed, "Every year you end up being alone for Christmas. So at that time of year you manipulate people's schedule to get what you want. And that is being alone for Christmas."

"Nooo. I manipulate people's schedule to get what I want and that is making sure that people are alone and miserable for Christmas just like I am on Christmas Day."

Maple cocked her head on one side, "I don't get it." She muttered, "if you want people to be alone on Christmas, just like when you are alone on Christmas, why can't you just do that kind of scheming so that you get to be with these people _together_ for Christmas?" Maple turned to Pat and the two girls exchanged friendly smiles, "Spending Christmas with friends is just like spending them with family."

Noir raised his brow up. An idea was forming, "Y'know what? You're right. I'll use my scheming and manipulation to get you two to get me an invite for that Christmas family mall meal thingy."

The girls cheered. Then their faces suddenly fell, "wait... what?"

"I'll promote you head secretary of accounting and marketing for Nintendo of Europe if you score me a seat to the family dinner. Oh. And talk to Bowser about this whole shopping thing. It's not his thing. He's just embarrassing himself. Do these two things, and I won't tell a soul about you being accomplices to the 3DS thief. 'Kay? Don't disappoint me."

Noir walked away, leaving the girls jaw dropped.

"What just happened?" Maple blinked.

"He manipulated us." Pat muttered, "to get what he wanted."

Maple slapped Pat hard on the head. "OW!" Pat squealed. "SEE WHAT YOU DID!" Maple barked, "I told you NOT to give him company!"

"Hey! You're the one who saw him first!"

The girls went on arguing, throwing blames at each other.

xXx

**Back at NintendoLand,**

"Welcome to the most daring and intense attraction in NintendoLand: Metroid Blast!" Monita said and the Miis were heard cheering.

Jace and Jenn were in their Samus costumes.

"You ready to shoot down your enemies on First Contact?" Monita asked.

Jace grinned. "I was born ready."

Jenn turned to Monita, "I'm not gonna get hurt am I?"

"Oh no…" Monita shook her flat-screen head, "You won't get hurt just as long as you shoot down your enemies before they shoot you."

Jace gazed over the blue neon-like field, "…but wait…where's our enemies? We don't see them anywhere."

Monita floated before Jace and Jenn and pointed, "You. And you." She said. The cousins stared horrifically at each other. "Now, get ready your guns and shoot yourselves silly." Monita floated away.

"Wait!" Jenn shouted out, pointing at herself and her cousin, "WE'RE the enemies?!"

Monita was missing. The cousins frantically looked around. "Where did she go?" Jace exclaimed.

"**FIRE!**"

They looked up and watched a laser flying toward them. Jace shoved Jenn out of the way and dodged to the other side. He fired a laser shot—to nowhere—before landing to the ground. He quickly rolled and shot off the ground, gazed around.

Lasers flew at him and slammed couple of inches before his feet. "KYAA!" he jumped.

Jenn ran, feet pounded the neon floor, as lasers cascaded past her. She found a huge neon structure the shape of a rock and dove there to hide. A laser cut through the structure. She was exposed. Targeted. Another laser shot to her face. She bent back, Matrix-style. She screamed with terror.

"I DON'T LIKE THIS GAME!" she screamed again as more lasers flew through her, grazed her suit and stubbed her Samus-suit-like boots.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I LOVE THIS GAME!" Jace exclaimed, "YOU GO AROUND SHOOTING AIMLESSLY AT YOUR ENEMIES! IT'S LIKE CALL OF DUTY IN REAL-LIFE!"

"YEAH BUT NOT WHEN IT OFFEND, HURT OR KILL PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS!" Jenn screamed, firing her lasers to whatever that was shooting lasers at her. She ducked to another hiding place, "Do you know how many people get offended, hurt or killed by people who do these kind of things in real life and think of it as fun? They're psychos!"

Jace found a hiding place of his own and he too aimlessly shot at his enemies, "I guess we're the psychos ones now!"

A laser struck Jace in the chest. Jace propelled off to the air and felt his body slammed hard on the ground like a ragged doll. Jenn sprinted off her hiding place, "JACE!" she screamed.

A laser zipped past her. She stepped back, unharmed. She dashed again for her cousin and knelt before him. His armor was charred, emitting a thick black smoke. He got hit.

"Jace…" tears formed in her eyes.

Jace winced in pain, "F…forget about me, Jennifer…" he struggled to speak, "…s-s-save yourself…"

Another laser brushed past Jenn's face. She winced, feeling her helmet bruised a bit. Paul Young's _What Christmas Means to Me _suddenly played in the background.

Her attention stayed determined on her cousin, "No Jace." She fought back the tears and forced a strong face, "No soldiers ever leave a man behind!"

Another laser shot straight for Jace. Jenn jumped in front of him. The laser slammed her shoulder and she propelled a yard from Jace. Jace gasped. "Jenn! What are you doing?!"

Jenn struggled back to her feet. Finally up she zeroed in on her target: a spaceship hovered before her. It got her on target. Another laser fired. She jumped and rolled out of the way. She morphed into a ball and rolled right under the spaceship.

The Spaceship pilot—another Monita face—looked around for her target. She shifted her gears and the spaceship started hovering up in the air. But something heavy underneath made it difficult to fly up farther. The pilot examined its spaceship camera. Jenn was right under the spaceship, grappled with her grappling hook.

Jace watched his cousin's daring attempt to take down the ship with stealth and precision. He remained speechless.

Jenn, still hanging on the ship with her grappling hook, slowly climbed the ship.

The Monita pilot violently twisted her stick, forcing the spaceship to shake. The pilot attempted to get the pesky Jenn off her. But the more she tried, the impossible it was to get her enemy off. The pilot now watched Jenn creeping up to her windshield.

"Cuckoo!" Jenn whistled at the pilot before she used her weapon-equipped arm and threw it across the windshield couple of times. The windshield slowly cracked.

The Monita pilot kept rumbling her stick, shaking the spaceship. But Jenn would just not let go. The pilot flicked for the windshield wipers on.

Jenn was about to throw another fist when the windshield wiper slammed her face. She rolled off the ship and almost hit the floor. Quickly she threw her grappling hook over the ship and it crashed inside the ship. She swung below the ship, couple of feet from the ground she almost hit. She swung over to the ship and landed on top.

The Monita pilot wheeled around; stunned at her enemy's presence. Jenn pointed her weapon at the pilot. A glowing orb formed just at the weapon's tip.

Jace watched a huge fireball take over the ship, lighting up the arena. He slowly struggled to his feet. Finally up he gazed again, hoping to see Jenn emerge from the fiery smokes, unscathed.

A figure leapt off the fiery smoke and turned again into a ball. The ball reached up to his feet and morphed into a person. It was Jenn. She was okay, but covered in soot. The background song ended.

"Miss me, cuz?" she smiled.

Jace smiled back and threw a big hug around her cousin. The duo laughed.

"I knew you'd come back for me!" Jace exclaimed.

"Okay," Jenn brushed a lock of her hair, "please cuz, spare me the drama. We worked well together."

Jace shook his head, "but still, I'm impressed! You should come and play laser tag with me and Hunt sometimes."

"NO!" she screamed. "Hell no! Out of the question. Mhn-mhn!"

"Oh come on…"

"I'm done with violence!" she voiced out before showing him one of her fingers, "I broke a nail! A NAIL!"

Jace briefly gazed at the chipped nail and shrugged, "So? It'll grow back."

Jenn glowered.

The _Metroid Blast_ attraction vanished before them in pixels and the duo found themselves again at the Nintendo Land attraction. Jace and Jenn were back to normal also, as if they weren't hurt one bit.

"Congratulations, Jacen and Jennifer!" Monita floated before them. She too appeared all right. "You have defeated the Monita-pilot ship in the _Metroid Blast_ challenge."

Jenn hooted and Jace pumped a fist in the air. They cheerfully high-fived.

"But only Jace was supposed to win this challenge." Monita uttered. "So…tsk. Sohh-ry!"

The cousins' smiles vanished.

"Wait, WHAT?" Jenn screamed.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa… I'm sorry, _konpyu-ta-_head said WHAT NOW?!" Jace screamed _computer _in Japanese.

"Jace was in the 1P position of this challenge." Monita explained, "That means that…"

"I was the first player…?" Jace said.

"And because you got defeated…" Monita sighed, "…you've automatically failed the challenges. Sorry for the disappointment."

"Ohh… HO-HO-HO! I'll give you a disappointment…" Jenn threateningly approached Jace. Jace gently pulled her asides and shook his head, "Forget it Jenn." He breathed a disappointed sigh, "It's not worth it."

The cousins' faces fell. "I don't believe it." Jenn slowly turned back to him. "After all we did. It was all for nothing?"

"Well, we've failed two challenges:" Jace said, "The Balloon Trip and the Metroid Blast. So… I guess that's it."

Jenn sighed, "So much for making a Christmas Miracle for Hunt."

Jace's face lit up, suddenly overcome by a surge of reality, "Wait a minute." He paused again, "The coins…?"

Jenn studied her cousin's sudden change of face. Maybe there was still hope. "…coins?" she eagerly asked.

Jace turned back to Monita, "Monita. Tell me. How many coins did we collect?"

"Doesn't matter how many coins you've collected." Monita argued, "What matters is that you did not pass all the—!"

Jenn seized Monita by the neck. The robot's eyes suddenly crossed and her voice turned shallow. "JUST TELL US HOW MANY COINS WE GOT!" she hissed.

"A—ack… A-three-hund… twelve… Acck!"

"312 Coins?" Jace repeated, his face lit up, "That's it! We won!"

Jenn turned to Jace, "What do you mean we won?"

"We have enough coins to buy ourselves a portal to Osaka, Japan!"

Jenn released her grip from Monita and whizzed to Jace, "Really?" Jace nodded furiously. Jenn gasped, "I can't believe it! We may get something out of all that stress we went through!"

"Let's go!" Jace sprinted off. "Right behind ya!" Jenn followed.

"J—just so you…ack…know…" Monita wheezed, "Sigh… you do own me 30% commission for all the tutorial needs!"

Monita paused. All the Miis at the Nintendoland Plaza stared back at the robot.

"Oh, not you. Those two humanoids who just took off!" she muttered before barking out, "MERRY CHRISTMAS BY THE WAY! And thanks for not damaging my circuit!"

**xXx**

Back in New York City, Bowser's evil laugh echoed across the Plaza. Shoppers appear depressed before him, as thu watched their credit cards being maxed out and their shopping bags being loaded with unnecessary items.

"Bowser!" Mario barked at the Koopa, "I cannot-a believe you. But then again you are-a truly evil Koopa. So I should believe it. But to think I was-a gonna promote you from custodial to top floor sweep deck."

"TOP FLOOR SWEEP DECK?" Bowser barked, "What good would that do to the holiday cheer I had planned out for these humans?"

"The satisfaction of spreading cheers all over like a common cold!" Fox remarked sarcastically. Bowser laughed again.

"But then again I won't be able to have all that moolah." Bowser grinned, watchig all the Koopas and Goombas sweeping the millions of coins piling up the plaza, "Money brings me happiness! And enough power to crush you and get the princess's hand in marriage once and for all!"

"ew." Peach frowned.

"There he is!" A voice called out, catching all attention. It was a police officer. Everyone watched as he led a squad and a limo following behind the squad. The shoppers stopped what they were doing. The Smash Bros. watched the new arrival coming in.

The parade of cars stopped. All the police officers got out of their vehicle and so did the limo driver. The limo driver opened the limo passenger door and out came the Mayor of New York. He approached Bowser in a scurry.

"Hey! Welcome to Bowser's Emporium!" Bowser greeted, "Wanna shop till you really drop? 'Cuz either way I don't care!"

"Bowser Koopa?" The Mayor begun, "I just can't fathom that a Nintendo character such as you, and an evil one at that, would take the time to," a huge smile came to the mayor's face, "donate all of that money to the Salvation Army of New York as a proceeds to buy millions of toys for the orphanage childrens all across the US for Christmas!"

The Smash Bros. all stared at each other in disbelief. The Koopas and Goombas stopped gathering the gold coins and the people were frozen with utter shock. Hunt, Mai-Lee, Daniel and Dr. Dimentio came just at the nick of time.

"...say what now?" Bowser mumbled at the Mayor.

The Mayor patted on Bowser's back, "so on behalf of...!" He quickly flinched as his hand came on contact with the Koopa's spikes. He gently moved his hand up to the Koopa's scaly shoulder, "...of the State of New York, I hereby award you Bowser Koopa, The Outstanding Citizenship Award for the Year!"

Bowser's eyes widened. "What?"

"Wait? Bowser?" Mario repeated, "Donating to charity?"

"It's a dream..." Luigi gasped, "no, it's-a Christmas miracle!"

Bowser, wide-eyed, turned back to the Mayor shaking his head, "nonononononono. There's gotta be a mistake. I'm trying to be good for this season only, but not THAT good. I'm still BAD!"

Bowser gazed back at the crowd who were all staring at him.

"What? Y'all think I'm not bad?" He barked," I-I'm BAD! I'm freaking bad! I'm as bad as Cruella and Hades combined! You don't believe me?" He turned to Mario, Peach and Luigi, "here. Ask Mario! Or ask Peach? Or ask Greenie!"

"It's Luigi." Luigi argued.

"WHATEVER!" Bowser barked, "Either way I am freakishly BAD!"

The Mayor gave the officer a signal. Then the officer beckoned his colleague around Bowser and before the Koopa knew it, he was hauled to the limo. The escorts stopped before the little girl Bowser met earlier. Her innocent goo-goo eyes met the Koopa's fierce and evil ones.

"Mister Dragon sir." She called him, "you are my vewy special fwiend."

"I AM NOT A FWIEND! FRIEND!" Bowser barked, "I'M A FIEND! A diabolical fiend!" The officers and the Mayor stuffed the arguing Koopa into the limo, "All that money were supposed to be mine! Not for some orphans! ALL MINE!"

The limo took off. All the Koopas and Goombas spread off, and the shoppers, free from Bowser's shopping tyranny, shouted out with glee.

"What was at all about?" Hunt asked.

"Apparently Bowser turned good and he refuses to accept he changed." Link replied.

"He donated money to the orphans or something." Zelda added.

"No he didn't." The voice of Ganondorf caught the Smash Bros. attention. The Gerudo wizard stood before the characters, "I did."

"Ganondorf?" Link gasped.

"I was getting sick and tired of Bowser and his pursuit of spreading out Christmas cheer like a plague that I was worried he'll forget his place and his mission to deal with you twerps. So I had to show him the cold hard truth about being good."

"So you made a phone call and referred Bowser to the Mayor?"

"No I put the Mayor and the Salvation Army under a spell." Ganondorf's eyes hardened, "So don't get your hopes up. Someday, the Villains will get back to business and we'll take the 3rd Dimentional Screen from you and reclaim the 3rd Dimentional Sphere as planned. And soon we'll have all the powers to dominate this world. But in the meantime, have yourself a not-so-merry Christmas."

Ganondorf swung his cape over his body and vanished in a puff of black smokes.

"Guess that's not the last of the villains we're gonna see." Fox said.

"But look!" Pit pointed up the skies. Tiny flakes of white gently drizzled on him, and soon it fell on the others, then on the citizens, on the tree, and finally on the entire city.

"Snow..." The Nintendo characters gasped at the sudden change of weather. The snow soon covered the concrete streets and coated nearby cars and trees.

"It's beautiful." Peach cooed.

"It's-a sure is." Luigi said and Yoshi, Kirby and Pikachu cooed in agreement.

"Hey! Let's go play in it!" Pit proposed and like, little children, everyone ran to the now white plaza to play in the snow, form snowmen and make snow angels. It was a fun night for everyone.

xXx

The mall food court was packed full of people for the Christmas Family Dinner. One table in particular was large and filled with Nintendo characters. Hunt, Mai, Daniel and Dr. Dimentio sat with them.

"Here's your sparkling cider. Extra chill and crisp." said a Parakoopa waiter, filling up the last cider glass to Mario. All the others got their glass served, "the sweet potato stuffings appetizer will be ready in less than five."

"Thank you very much!" Mario said with a big smile.

"Wish Jace WAS ready in less than five." Hunt sighed, back reclined on his chair.

"Where IS Jace anyway?" Mai turned to Daniel and Dimentio, "You seen him today?"

"Haven't seen him yesterday." Daniel remarked. Dimentio shook his head, "even Jenn didn't show up. It's like they just up and vanished." He glowered at the Nintendo characters. "What did you all do?"

The characters groaned and grunted in unison. "Okay, why is it that everytime something happened to Jace or Jenn you immediately blame us for it?" Luigi complained.

A bright light formed before the table and in the middle of the crowd. The light finally dimmed and out of it came Jace and Jenn. Jenn led the way with large shopping bags and Jace followed after her with twice the amount of shopping bags on his back.

"Merry Christmas everybody!" Jenn smiled broadly, "we come bearing gifts!" She gently dropped the bags on the table. Jace dragged his heavy bags, grunting and huffing. He pulled the bags over his head and slammed it to the table, knocking down the other bags and the sparkling cider glasses out of the way.

"Jacen Riders!" Mai exclaimed, "Where have you been? You've been gone for two days!"

Jace huffed and puffed. He was too exhausted to even utter a word.

"Let me guess." Hunt examined the bags, "Christmas shopping in the Nintendo World?"

"Better." Jenn's smile broadened, "Christmas shopping at NintendoLand."

Everyone at the table cooed.

"Did you venture around the Dark Woods in Battle Quest?" Zelda asked.

"Did you Chase Mario around silly?" Luigi asked.

"Did you hunt ghosts and had a Pikmin Adventure?" asked Fox.

Yoshi, Kirby and Pikachu all leaned forward, eager to hear it all.

"Jace had a Metroid Blast. But he got blasted off before he had the first strike." Jenn grinned.

"Well at least I didn't get eaten by a fish on my Balloon Trip." Jace muttered. The two cousins glowered at each other before they pulled up a chair and joined the table.

"So what did you get us?" Mai asked, her eyes glittering over the out-of-this-world gifts. She reached up for one of them.

"Uh-huh mother." Jace said, shaking a finger, "not until we have our annual gift exchange. It's tradition."

"Didn't have to ask me twice." Mai snapped her fingers and the crowd watched a line of people come out of nowhere, carrying huge wrapped boxes. The other families watched the gifts coming in to the Smash Bros. table like a parade.

"Ooh goodie!" Peach clapped her hands, "Gifts!"

"And most of these gifts are especially for you Nintendo characters." Dr. Dimentio said.

The Nintendo characters stared back at the doctor, Mai and Daniel, "No way." Fox gasped.

"You mean… there are stuffs in these boxes that are for us?" Link breathed. Dimentio nodded cheerfully.

"Come on guys, open 'em!" Daniel said ecstatically and the cheerful characters started tearing off the wrapping and pulling out the boxes.

"MY OWN MUSHROOM TEA SET?! WITH A RECIPE BOOK FOR THE BEST TEA IN THE WORLD?!" Peach screamed.

"A new Vacuum?!" Luigi exclaimed.

"And it's Dyson." Daniel said, "It's the best kind for sucking ghosts from your Mansion."

Luigi blushed, "Aw… you shouldn't have!"

Mario pulled out a key from a small box. He blinked, "A key?" he gasped, "Is it a key to another portal?"

"Even better." Mai said with a huge grin.

A car honk was heard. Everyone turned around. So did Mario.

A Lexus LFA coated in a shiny ruby red paint and Mario's M-symbol tattooed on the hood pulled up before the crowd. Sonic was behind its wheel.

"No way…" Jace gasped, "A BRAND-NEW CAR?"

"Ma…ma…mia…" Mario's eyes widened.

Sonic jumped off the car, "Enjoy your new gift, Mario! It's ALL yours."

Luigi angrily tossed his new vacuum cleaner over his shoulder and sulkily crossed his arms.

"Oh!" Sonic threw a kick on the car side and the hook pulled open. A bunch more wrapped gifts popped out of the vehicle, "And there's enough gifts for everyone!"

The rest of the Nintendo characters jumped at the gifts and started ripping the wrappings off. Yoshi got a large golden Russian Egg. Kirby pulled out a Warp Star doll the size of himself. Pikachu played around with his Pokeball plushie. Pit admired his brand-new bow and arrow. Zelda looked ravishing in an indigo silk necktie evening gown. Link adjusted his new high-class leather boots from Men's Wearhouse. Fox, Falco, and Samus each got a briefcase full of expensive guns and lasers, fit for the secret agent kind. Finally DK and Diddy Kong had heaping supplies of bananas on a dozen crates, plus a Guitar Hero Bongo Drum Set.

"It's just what I've always wanted!" Pit exclaimed, "Thanks!"

All the characters cheered with glee, including Luigi who only feigned it.

Mai pulled out another wrapped box and handed it to Jace, "Here's your gift, Jace."

Dimentio handed his wrapped box to Jenn as well. Unlike Jace's, the box was flat, "Open yours too Jenn." He said, "I'm sure you'll love it too."

"Okay, I know it's not a car," Jace said, reaching out for his wrapped box, "but I do wonder what this is." He started tearing off the wrapping, so did Jenn who giddily tear hers off.

Jace's jaws dropped at the content he just unearthed. While Jenn unearthed from her box a gorgeous evening gown. Tears of joy and a squeal left her face, "It's the limited edition Princess Diana ivory dress!" she turned to Dimentio, "The one she wore on her Wedding Day?"

"The one and only." Dimentio said.

"A Wii U? Premium Set?" Jace breathed next, turning his eyes from his new device to his mom, "It's just what I wanted. How did you know?"

Mai narrowed her eyes, "Really Jace? We're gonna play that game?" she sounded annoyed, yet she couldn't help but smile.

"I LOVE IT!" Jenn swung her arms around her father, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Oh…okay…not too tight!" Dimentio choked. Jenn quickly released him, "Oh my gosh. I'll wear it like every day for the rest of my life!"

Jace and Hunt laughed, "Really? Everyday?" Hunt said.

"Yes." She said, suddenly with a creepy tone, "Everyday."

"I can't wait till I play my brand-new Wii U!" Jace remarked.

"Now before you get all too excited," Dimentio said, "The Wii U was specially designed by yours truly."

Jace's smile vanished. He turned to Jenn who returned the same stunned stare. He pushed the Wii U box away from him, "Please tell me it's not magical."

"Err…" Dimentio uttered.

"Because I do not want Monita coming out of the GamePad screen!" Jenn exclaimed, "Or I'll scream!"

"What? No!" Dimentio chuckled, "It's not magical! I just changed the CPU chip on this one. 64MB of hard disk memory. Don't tell corporate."

"Oh." Jace breathed a sigh of relief, "Then in that case I love it."

"I have something for you too Jace." Daniel pulled out a small jewelry box and handed it to Jace. Jace opened the box and unearthed a white watch.

"A Genova Swiss?" Jace turned back to Daniel, "Dude…"

"What do you think?" Daniel asked nervously.

Jace shook his head, "I don't know if you're trying to win me over. But if you are," he broadly smiled, "it's TOTALLY working. Thanks!"

Daniel smiled back, letting out a sigh of relief. "Phew. Glad you liked it."

"But guys! You have yet to open your presents!" Jenn pressured.

"Hey, I even got something for you too Daniel." Jace said to his mom's fiancé.

"Really?" Daniel was taken aback. An excited grin pulled up to his face, "Gee, Jace! You shouldn't have! Really! You shouldn't have!"

He tore off the wrapping and popped the box open and out shot off a huge Monita face. The face floated in midair before him, blinking its creepy gazing eyes. The Nintendo characters chuckled at the mere sight of it.

"Really. You shouldn't have…" Daniel now said bleakly. The Nintendo characters chuckled, amused. Daniel turned back to Jace, "Seriously, what is this?"

"It's a surveillance camera. Courtesy of Monita from NintendoLand." Jace said, "Big Brother's watching. As I can now watch your every move with my mom."

Mai rolled her eyes, "Come on Jace. Is that really necessary? I don't think you should…" she stopped talking at the sight of her gift. "Oh my…!"

"What chu get? What chu get?" Hunt asked eagerly. Mai unearthed a skull. Everyone at the table cringed at the mere sight of it.

"A skull?" Link said, "Really?"

"What?" Jace exclaimed, "It's made of diamonds! And that skull belonged to a princess! From Zelda's Dynasty."

"And she tattooed her skull in diamonds?" Zelda frowned in disgust of the mere thought.

"Hey, we got these gifts at Nintendo Land! Nowhere else." Jace said.

"Yeah! It's the thought that counts!" Jenn added before facing Dimentio, "Isn't that right, Father?"

Dimentio looked at his wrapped box then back at his daughter. "I'm afraid to open mine."

"Oh come on Dad."

"What? Mai gets a skull and Daniel has a monitor that stares at your soul. I won't be surprised if I get the head of Andross in there!"

"I would love to have that." Falco said. The characters groaned creepily at Falco's thought. "What?" he exclaimed, "I'll hang it proudly in my room and use it as target practice with my brand-new gun."

"Well, boohoo all you want guys." Jace said before turning to Hunt, "At least I know for sure Hunt will be happy with what we gave him."

Hunt shook his head, "Uh-huh! Nooo way Jacen Riders, I am NOT getting the Head of Andross for Christmas."

Jace and Jenn laughed. "Think again buddy." He said.

"Turn around." Jenn said. Hunt got tensed but he listened and turned around. His eyes widened. His mouth hung slightly open. He saw Mr and Mrs. Long—his parents—walked in the restaurant. They dropped their suitcases and opened their arms wide for their son.

"Hunt, my beloved son!" Mr. Long spoke in Japanese.

"We're so happy to see you!" Mrs. Long added in English.

"Mom…?" Hunt's smile came up, "…Dad?" tears of joy slowly streamed down his cheeks, "It really IS YOU!"

Hunt got off his seat and hugged his parents tightly. He let go off them and they briefly stared back, "…but how?" Hunt demanded. "I thought the airport…and the planes…and the whole… … …but HOW?"

"Jace and Jenn." Mr. Long said. "They found us and picked us up."

"Somehow they used some sort of weird portal device to get to us at the airport," Mrs. Long added, "and next thing you know, here we are."

Hunt turned back to Jenn and Jace, "So that's why you were at NintendoLand."

"Believe me it was no small feat." Jenn said and Jace added, "But it was worth it."

Hunt wrapped his arms around his best friends in a hug, "Thank you guys. I truly appreciate this."

"Hey, you're welcome buddy." Jace replied.

"Anything for a friend." Jenn added.

The family dinner proceeded as planned by the Mall. Everyone ate and drank merrily to their hearts content without interruption.

Then Jace turned uneased. He looked over his shoulders and saw Pat, Maple, Hans and Noir. His eyes widened.

"Jace, I know you're not gonna like this but...!" Maple tried to speak.

"He's not gonna like it." Hans added nonchalantly.

"WHAT," Jace said vehemently, "is HE doing here?"

Noir grinned, hands raised in surrender, "Look. Before you start squirming before me like an eight-year old girl, I'm only here for the Christmas dinner at this mall. These two ladies here invited me. And it's the mall that's hosting this. Not you."

A smirk passed Noir's lips, "So I have every reason to be here."

"And I say you have every reason NOT to be." Jace said strongly.

The Smash Bros. and Jace's family called out to Jace, catching his attention. They gave him a reassuring nod. They noticed Noir meant no harm to him and anyone else at this time.

Jace turned back to Noir, "…but because it's Christmas, I'll let you join in our table."

Maple started jumping up and down and threw Jace a big hug, "Oooh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she giggled, "I don't know how I can repay you if you haven't accepted! Oh! I know! How about a date with yours truly!"

"How about to let go?" Jace's face turned blue, "You're choking me!"

The gang circled around Maple and tried to yank her off Jace. But her grasp, unwilling to let go, tightened around Jace. The Smash Brothers soon came and tried to get her off him but to no avail.

Hunt watched the struggle enfolding, his parents by his side, he had a smile on his face. "Now that's what I call a very merry Christmas."

**xXx**

- Super Smash Bros. 3D returns with brand-new episodes Spring 2013.

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes - SSB3D  
**

- Warning! New Challenger Approaching: The White Knight is here! And his name is Simon! He's dark, brooding and he's the spitting image of Jace. But what makes him better than Jace?

- Noir's destiny will also be revealed!

- Also Hans will finally have some spotlight. Harry Hanswood will make an appearance starting in the next episode, and so will the cast of Punch-Out!

- There will also be some Pokemon Mystery Dungeon episode, as well as Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, and the new Wonderful 101.

- In the upcoming chapters, Jenn and Hunt will finally learn the truth about Simon. But certain Nintendo characters will find out a little too early.

- But the big question on everyone's mind is... did Jace survived the Freakish?

**Sneaks from Upcoming Episodes - SSBU  
**

- Barren and Meta-Knight entered Master Hand's place. And so does Cassie, Jenn and Hunt, and the Smash Bros. But what they find there will be a shock.

- The new enemy has been revealed: it is a cult, known as the U-Knights. And they know something about Jace gone MIA.

- Our troubled character Ian Morsus will show his true colors.

- And finally, something terrible will fall on the beloved Smash Bros. stadium inside the San Diego Comic Con. Another meteor? No, that one is worse.

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_White Knight in 3D_


	14. Ep9:: White Knight in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_White Knight in 3D  
_

* * *

_Last time on Super Smash Bros. 3D…_

_"I must offer a proper gift." Noir said, pulling out a small box._

_"…for me?" gasped Jenn._

_"Actually," Noir turned to Jace, "it's for him."_

_"A Green Ninja Sportsbike? Or a Ruby Red Ferrari?" Noir said to a stunned Jace, "Both paid in full. Your choice… you're now officially a premier member of Nintendo's League of Video Gaming Legends in London… you'll be leaving on a jet plane in one hour."_

_"In London?!" Hunt said to Jace via FaceTime at the Miiverse._

_"That's-a not exciting." Mario replied and so did Peach, Kirby and Pikachu who all uttered different mutual noises._

_Jace meets the League of Video Gaming Legends._

_"Salud, Jacen." The Signore smirked to the stunned Jace, "Remember me? …I'd like you to meet my other members of the League of Legendary Gamers." He introduced, "my godson, Ryan Somith."_

_Ryan smirked evilly to Jace. Jace looked nervous._

_"We've finally identified our target!" Samus said to the Nintendo characters. The image of Palutena appeared on a screen._

_"Lady Palutena?" Pit exclaimed._

_At a hospital in New York, Palutena embraced Pit, "Oh, Pit! I'm so glad I've finally found you!"_

_"Looking for this?" The Nintendo characters turned to the doctor who reveals a huge mirror. He also revealed he's not a doctor but Ryan Somith. Hunt looked stunned. "What?"_

_"My mirror!" Palutena exclaimed._

_Ryan… he's cold and calculated." Hunt said to a police officer, "I am actually shocked that he's part of the League of Video Gaming Legends!"_

_Medusa appeared in the skies before the city. "Medusa!" Pit said to Medusa. "Hello Pit." Medusa replied, "You've heard of the Freakish, yes? Well, it's coming your way soon." _

_The image of the Freakish hovered over Medusa's spirit over New York City. Citizens ran for their lives as Pit and the other Smash Bros. battle her and her Underworld Army on top of Freedom Tower._

_"Game over, Medusa." Palutena said to Medusa, "you lose."_

_"You've managed to defeat me and get your Mirror back. But you haven't managed to stop the Freakish's recovery. It is now free from its prison." Medusa revealed with a smirk._

_Jace comes across a giant snake in the London tower._

_"Behold… the Freakish." Ryan said to Jace from his phone, "A mortal enemy to the Nintendo World AND the White Knight." _

_"Aw man…" Jace swallowed._

_The giant snake turned to Jace in pursuit. Jace ran for his life, screaming._

_"I think the Freakish got to him." Hunt said to the Smash Bros. regarding Jace. The Smash Bros. look worry._

_Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep!_

_All eyes turned back to Dimentio's smartphone. "Did you find Jace?" Jenn asked._

_Dimentio stood still. The beeping was still heard… from an object glittering a couple of feet from the engineer. _

_The heroes approached it: it was Jace's Smash Ball necklace. Its chains had been snapped off as if by a great force._

_"…found it." Dimentio said, picking up the jewel._

_The ground started shaking violently. The whole tower wobbled, unable to stand still._

_Then all eyes turned to the skies as the clouds thickened and darkened. They scream._

**xXx**

The gang watched something pulling out from the dark thickened sky. A body. A human body.

Quickly they dispersed out of the way and watched the body land in a loud thud. They slowly approached it. The body was in giant-sized trophy form. Like a statue. But what they saw made their hearts jump.

"Noir?!" Jenn exclaimed.

"He's in-a trophy form?" Mario blinked his blue-cartoonish eyes.

"But… how?" Dimentio wondered.

The tower before him shook up again. All eyes watched the tower crumbling.

"JACE!" Jenn took a mad dash for the tower. Hunt and Luigi grabbed and restrained her from taking another step. Toadsworth seized her by the leg. "JENN! Wait!" Hunt exclaimed.

"Don't-a go in there!" Luigi exclaimed.

"But Jace is out there!" Jenn shouted. "We have to help him!"

Sirens were heard from a distance. All heads briefly looked up the sky and listened to the sirens. Someone must have called a state of emergency at the London Tower.

Mario, Pit, and Palutena turned to Noir's statue, "Only he knows…" Pit muttered. Mario jumped and slapped the statue platform. A shimmering glow took over Noir's metal body, and he was back in the flesh.

Noir blinked his listless eyes. He pulled his body off the ground and looked at the party, confused.

"Wuh…what the…? What are you all doing—?"

Jenn pulled out of Hunt, Luigi, and Toadsworth and grabbed Noir by the shirt, "WHAT… are you doing here?" she snarled, "What do you know about Jace's disappearance?"

Noir raised an eyebrow. "What?" he said, for the first time, showing concern in his fierce eyes. "What are you talking ab—!"

"You're the one who sent Jace to London." Jenn cut him off, "YOU'RE the one who bought him those expensive stuffs and got in touch with him for a while! I heard you speak to someone about Jace's whereabouts! And HOW the HELL did you ended up a trophy coming out of a freaky void? And speaking of Freaky, WHAT THE HELL IS A FREAKISH?!" She violently shook him silly.

Once again, Hunt, Luigi, Toadsworth pulled Jenn off Noir. Dimentio joined them. "Jennifer! That is enough!" Dimentio exclaimed.

"He'll tell us everything later." Hunt said as the sirens grew louder and louder, "Right now, the police and the medics are on their way."

And right on cue, an ambulance and three London police cars pulled up before the group. The police officers and the paramedics left their cars and ran to the group. They were now staring at the tower were Jace were. It was demolished and crumbled in pieces.

"What… the bloody hell?" a police man breathed.

"What happened?" another officer interrogated.

"Anyone inside?" A paramedic asked.

"My cousin!" Jenn exclaimed.

"And there's a snake in that tower!" Hunt said, "And I don't mean no small snake. A giant one!"

The officers and paramedics stood still at the last word.

"All right…" the police said after a minute of digesting the info, "we'll go from here. You go."

"But where do we—?"

"The Royal London Hospital." said the paramedic, "You meet us there. We'll give you the report."

"Let-a me come with you." Mario spoke, "I'm a doctor too. I'll give the report to my group as well."

"All right." The officer said without a second thought, "but the rest of you, report to the Hospital!"

xXx

Jenn, Hunt, Dr. Dimentio, Pit, Palutena and Noir were all at the Royal London Hospital patient hallway. Jenn paced about. She fluttered her shaky hands. She looked ready to cry. Her father and Hunt were on their seats, while the Skyworld characters and Noir were against the wall.

"Jenn…" Dimentio called, but Jenn said nothing. She continued pacing. Her body was now shaking. "Jenn…?" he tried again as he got up, "Hey, Jennifer. Honey." He stepped in front of her.

"What?" she cried out, her eyes were now beady red and filling with tears. She sniffled, "What… dad…?"

"hey, hey, hey…" Dimentio placed two hands on his daughter's shoulders, "shh…honey, calm down."

"Calm down?" she snarled, "Calm dow—! I CAN'T… calm… down, Dad!" her voice broke and tears streamed down her cheeks, "My cousin is out there! He's in trouble! And that dark void has something to do with it! And we can't even do anything about it!"

Dimentio wrapped his arms around his daughter in an embrace. Jenn quietly cried on his shoulder. "Hey… it's gonna be okay, honey." He whispered, "it's going to be okay."

He took a deep breath and with bravery in his tone of voice looked her in the eyes, "The police and paramedics are on the case. You saw it too right?"

She nodded her solemn blonde head.

"Don't worry," Dimentio said, "we'll find him. All right?"

"Yeah." Hunt spoke. Jenn and Dimentio turned to him. Hunt too tried to sound brave, "Jace is a fighter. Whatever predicament he's in right now, he'll make it. I'm sure of it."

Jenn caught sight of a doctor and Mario, as Dr. Mario, was with him.

"Doctor!" she ran to the doctor. Dimentio, Palutena and Pit followed. Hunt left his seat and followed as well. Noir only took one step and stopped, watching from behind.

"How is he?" she looked around, "Where's Jace?"

"Where's my nephew?" Dimentio exclaimed, "Is he alright?"

Dr. Mario and the doctor said no words. Their eyes were filled with sadness and worry.

"D-Doctor…?" Jenn gulped.

"Mr. Dimentio." the doctor finally spoke, "Ms. Dimentio. I am so sorry to say this…" he hesitated, "…but your loved one, Jacen Riders… He…"

Jenn gasped, chocking back the tears escaping her pretty eyes… when the elevator opened before them and out came paramedics wheeling in Jace. His blue-yellow flannel shirt all shredded and soiled. His face was dry and arid like a zombie. His jet black hair ragged and unkempt. IV needles buried in his arms marked with scars. Yet his closed eyes looked at peace.

"Doctors!" the first paramedic called out. The doctors rushed to their patient. The rest of the group gathered round.

"It's Jacen Riders!" the second paramedic spoke, "No one could've survived that tower falling down! Even that freaky snake didn't survive it. But HIM?!" he paused, "…he did it."

All heads turned to the paramedics.

"…what?" Hunt whispered.

"He's alive!" the nurse with the paramedic revealed, "…he's breathing."

Hunt, Jenn and Dimentio choked back tears. The Smash Bros. breathed with relief and exhilaration.

"Mamamia… it is a miracle." Dr. Mario rushed in with the parameds.

"Quick!" the doctor joined in, "Take him to the nearest room! If he lost a lot of blood, issue a transfusion for him." He noticed the blood bag next to the bed, "Oh wait. You're already on it. Now go on! Stat!"

Jenn buried her tearful face into her father's chest. Dr. Dimentio wrapped around her and let a huge sigh of relief before choking back tears. Hunt wiped a tear, smiled broadly and hugged Palutena and Pit. Pit then pumped his fist in the air, shouting "All right!".

"But…but how…?" Noir asked, dismayed and loss of words.

The doctor shrugged, "Apparently, Jacen is a fighter."

"Yes. He never gives up…" Jenn commented, sniffling with joy.

"Oh god, I don't know what I would have done if Jace was really dead." Dr. Dimentio exclaimed, "Mai would've had my head if anything happened to her boy!"

"But HOW did he even survived?" Noir was ready to argue. All heads turned to him. "I mean…it's great but…how? Unless, some supernatural force is at play here."

xxx

The Smash Bros. patiently gazed back at the irresponsive Jace in the hospital gown, peacefully lying on the hospital bed. IVs and gauzes wrapped around his arms. Bandages patched over his bruised face and muscles. Dr. Mario quietly listened for his heartbeat with his stethoscope.

After what felt like a solid good one minute, he put his instrument away and faced the Smash Bros. Luigi leaned forward. Jenn who was with the nervous Nintendo characters buried her thumb's fingernails between her teeth. Hunt scratched his head, frowning. Noir's loafers furiously tapped the floor with impatience. Dr. Dimentio was not with the group.

"He's in stable condition." Dr. Mario said.

A huge sigh of relief filled the air, followed by cheerful chatters.

"I'm so happy he's okay!" Peach exclaimed.

"This calls for a celebration!" Pit declared and dashed out of the room. Palutena moved her eyes on the floor and sighed, "I'm not so sure about that."

Noir curiously hunched his head to one side. He could have sworn he heard Palutena say something with a sullen expression. He turned to speak to her when Jenn moved past him, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to a private corner.

"I'm so happy Jace is gonna be all right." a glowing smile remained on her tearful face, "What about you? Are you okay?"

She waited for Noir to say something, but he appeared completely silent. As if he was removed from the conversation.

"Noir?" she said.

Noir blinked his stern eyes, "Uh…" his forehead creased, "what?"

"Didn't you hear me?" she said, "I asked if you were okay? I mean you came out of that… freaky void…just now."

"Yeah, as a trophy." Noir snapped, "Okay? I don't care if you blame me for your cousin's wellbeing. I know I did wrong. But that? To me that was just…." He turned away and deeply frowned, trying to banish that disturbing image off his head, "…something called a lesson of interference." He rolled his eyes, "…my ass."

Jenn now cocked her head on one side, "Yeah. We know that you're not accounted for. It's those…! hey!" She reached up to Noir and pulled him close. "Hey, look at me."

Noir sighed, gazing back at her.

"If you think what happened to Jace was your fault, it wasn't. It was that witch Medusa. The same old witch who got Jace trapped with the Freakish. Same one who put you into that Trophy form and same one who tried to destroy New York. So now everything's fine."

"So how is he, Doctor…" Dimentio cleared his throat, turning briefly to Mario, "…Mario?" It felt so awkward to call a Nintendo character 'Doctor'.

"I think we should let Jace rest for a while." Dr. Mario advised, "We'll take another blood test later in the morning and check his vitals so that we'll know where he stands before returning home. So if we could please give him some privacy?"

The family and Noir left the room. Luigi, Peach, and Palutena were about to leave too when Dr. Mario stopped them and secretly beckoned them to meet with him in private instead. And when asked, the response was all connected to Jace.

So the group followed Dr. Mario, and the last person being Pit closed the door behind him.

Noir was now alone with a sleeping Jace. He slowly approached his bed. His loafers quietly scuffed on the cold hospital tiles till they stopped inches near Jace's bed. He leaned in closer to the sleeping teen. His eyes narrowed.

"You're not Jace." He whispered darkly.

Jace's eyes suddenly flew open. His IV equipped hand shot out and seized Noir by the arm. Noir gasped, but he didn't jump back. He briefly stared at his grabbed arm then back at Jace.

Jace looked right at him, with unblinking wolfish gaze, as if an animal about to devour his prey.

"Who are you?" Noir began quizzically.

Jace hunched his head back. His forehead crinkled, he spoke a deep mature voice.

"I was about to ask you the same question."

xxx

His vision spun wildly before him. A sea of trees, sands, water…all violently twirled, pulled into this blender of horror, refusing to stay in place. The sky closed in all around him, as if engulfing him. The chilling wind rushed past his face as the spinning image grew closer to him. He wasn't even on the ground. He was heading for the ground!

His vocal chords tried to choke out a terrifying scream but couldn't. Terrified tears, frozen to his face by the howling wind. A flurry of panic came over him. By the time his scream came out loud and clear, "PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

He felt his body hit the ground with a sheer force and everything turned black in an instant.

…

…

…

A faint voice was heard. Almost quiet and muffled, as if wrapped in cotton wool. Yet it filled his ears, with a soothing tone.

It sounded angelic. Almost… like a girl.

"…hey. …hey."

A feeling of numbness crept over him. Dimming lights faded in as that feeling of grogginess and sleep drew its blanket over him, drifting him off across a placid lake of nothingness.

Gradually emerging as from a deep sleep, almost like death, the angelic voice surrounding him began to clear. He blinked off a couple of times to rid of the blurry vision and like drifting smoke picked up by the breeze he could see again.

A sea of trees towered over him and the sun hid behind its lush greens. He was in a forest. But how?

His confused brain frantically tried to explain not only where he was, but what had actually happened. How did he end up here? Realization dawned as to his previous predicament. He was being hunted.

"HAA!" He jolted up, his head slammed into another head and a scream pierced his ears. His head spun again in blurry pain.

The angelic voice of the girl was now replaced by a wounded cry of fury and tears.

"Oww… you hurt me poor head…"

"I…" he grunted, rubbing its round head, "…I'm sorry," he looked past the pain to face her, "I didn't see what…!"

A sharp gasp left his lips. Eyes staring in dismay. That angelic girl he bumped head into was no girl. She was a Pokémon: an Oshawott!

She looked back at him, tears filled up her beady adorable eyes.

"Wh-what?" she sniffled. She DID sound like a girl. In an Oshawott body. Oshawott was supposed to say _Osha! Osha! Osha-WHOT_! Not an actual _WHAT_!

"You're a…!" he scurried to his feet, "You're a Pokémon." His frown creased, "That talks."

"Yeah." She sounded annoyed now, "I AM a Pokémon! So are you! Geez, we're not in the Ancient times anymore."

His eyes flew open, "What?"

"Ow… you really hurt my head." She whined, rubbing on her white forehead, "Great, now I'm gonna have a scar."

"Wait a minute. I'm not a Pokémon. I'm a human!"

Oshawott gazed back at him for a brief moment, "You're a human?" she almost sounded sarcastic, "Really?"

"Of course I am!" he shot his hands before him, "Look at my—!"

Another sharp gasp escaped his lips. His hands were yellow. His fingers were the size of pins. His biceps were oversized like a fat plump person. He looked down his feet. Then his belly. Under his armpits and legs. All yellow! What happened to all of himself? He pulled his cheeks. Puffy with rose red marks. His ears were not even in the right place. They were attached to his head. His breath and heart beat turned heavy.

"Wh-wha-wha-what? What happened?" he fought back the tears, "What happened to me?"

He suddenly stopped moving. Something long and hard came behind him. Attached to his tailbone. His tiny arm reached up and felt it. A tail! He quickly yanked it and a blast of pain shot from his tailbone to his spine! It was attached!

"AAAH! I have a tail! I have a tail! I have a TAAAIL!"

He frantically ran around. On four, like a dog. He stopped again. Head darting back and forth, searching for something. Something that will prove him wrong. He spotted a puddle of water besides Oshawott. He went for it and stared at his reflection. Staring back was no human.

It was Pikachu.

His beady eyes widened. His heart rate quickened and his breath was heavy of dread. He was a Pikachu!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The trees rustled and a huge crowd of Pidoves, Taillows and Pidgeottos took off from them.

**xxx**

"Wow. Drama much?" Oshawott rolled her eyes, still watching Pikachu running out in panic with his head darting back and forth, "You know for a Pikachu, I'm surprised you have no self-esteem."

"I'm not a Pikachu!" Pikachu argued before running around again.

"Really? Because I swear I'm seeing you all yellow and all electric. Look at your cheeks. Sparkling. That's stress."

Pikachu stopped, sensing a tingling sensation that felt like static electricity on both his cheeks. He slapped both his cheeks and the sensation stopped.

"I am not a Pokémon!" Pikachu snapped again, "I am a human! My name is Jace! Jacen Riders!"

Oshawott gazed back at him meticulously.

**xxx**

"You're not Jace." Noir narrowed his eyes at the Jace clone before him back at the London Hospital, "Who the hell are you?"

Jace's hand slowly tightened around Noir's wrist, slowly crushing its bone. Noir silently groaned, squinting in pain, his dark eyes still stared at his enemy.

"You… tell… me." Jace growled, his olive green eyes were now fierce like a tiger.

"Jace?" The voice of Jenn caught Noir and Jace's attention. The now cheerful cousin ran inside and hugged her cousin, prompting Jace to release Noir who stumbled back. "Oh Jace! I'm so happy to see you again!"

Jace blinked in confusion. "Jace…?" He looked into Jenn's eyes, "…I'm sorry but, who is…?"

"Jace!" Hunt shouted as he entered the room and hugged his best friend, "Dude! You're here! You're alive again and kicking!" His face then turned angry, "but the next time this Noir person takes you to London, or Paris or freaking Wonderland," he threw an angry look at Noir, "say no!"

Jace turned to Noir and so did Jenn. Noir scoffed under his breath, "Wouldn't dream of it."

"So you brought me here huh?" Jace's voice was rasp of anger.

"But it's not his fault!" Jenn quickly moved her arm over her cousin before he could jump off the bed to corner Noir, "It's not. He's a victim too."

"Jacen Riders!" shouted Dimentio as he entered his room, "next time you do something that reckless, I'm the one who's gonna end up killing you!"

Dimentio's last phrase made Jace scowl, "…an enemy." He whispered to himself. But then startled when Dimentio wrapped around him in a hug also, "how are you doing my ungrateful _nipote_?"

Jace looked around him: that Noir person, the dark blond girl, the kid with the glasses, the funky looking nerd who calls him nipote… He didn't even know these people!

"What is this place?" He asked, looking around him. Whatever that was, it was definitely not his home.

"You're at the London Royal Hospital." Jenn replied.

"What happened?" He asked again.

"You were attacked by the Freakish at the London Tower." Hunt said, "Noir set you up for this."

His brooding expression changed to a state of shock, "Freakish…?" He turned back to Noir again coldly.

"Hunt, come on. Noir… It's not his fault!" Jenn said to Hunt. Hunt glowered, "what do you mean? You're just blinded by his love for him?"

"Look. I didn't know the League would've done this." Noir said. "If I knew—!"

"Where are the Smash Brothers?"Jaceasked, with concern in his tone of voice. "Are they okay? What of the Freakish?"

"The Freakish has been defeated." Hunt said, "It fell in the London Tower."

"And the Smash Brothers are fine." Jenn said, "They're with Dr. Mario now, talking."

"So they're here too." Jace paused to let out a sigh of relief under his breath. He turned to Jenn, "I would like to see them." He gazed back to Hunt and Dimentio also, "…now."

**xxx**

Dr. Mario entered an empty break room. He looked around. Nobody was there. He let the door open for Luigi, Pit, Palutena, and Peach. Zelda, Link and Fox entered the room as well. Dr. Mario spun in one place, reverting his medical outfit back into his red-and-blue overalls.

"Okay Mario! Spill!" Luigi exclaimed, "Why are you calling a state of emergency regarding Jace? You said he was recovering swimmingly!"

"What's happening to Jace?" Peach gasped, a hand over her chest, "Is something wrong?"

"You're sensing this too right?" questioned Fox, noting Mario's hesitating silence.

"Sensing what?" asked a confused Pit. "His aura? It's fine!"

Zelda shook her head, "No it's not."

"Everybody, please! Before this gets outta hand…" Mario silenced the chattering group, "Yes. Jace is recovering swimmingly. And my aura is fine, Princess Zelda." He paused with a sigh, "Only problem is… It's not Jace."

Luigi, Pit, and Peach stared in utter shock. "What?" Pit exclaimed.

"Then what are you talking ab—?"

"Lady Palutena." Mario interrupted Luigi as he turned to the goddess and so did everyone else. "Only you know something, yeah?"

Palutena let out a defeated huff, "All right fine, you broke me!" She pointed outside the break room, "That man out there is not Jace!" She solemnly stared on the floor, "His soul is no longer in his body."

"WHAT?!" Luigi and Pit both barked.

"Palutena! What did you do?" Pit hissed

"Saving his life!" Palutena exclaimed. "Saving his body, before the Freakish could finish him! You're welcome by the way."

"Then where IS the real Jace?" Fox asked.

She turned to him, "The Nintendo World. That's where I've sent his soul away." She nervously played with her fingers, "…though I don't know where exactly in the Nintendo World but…"

The characters chattered in panic.

"But he is safe!" she quickly added, suppressing the worry in the group. She paused again, "…for now. He'll just need to get adjusted to his new body. Though I don't know which body."

"Do you at least know who is living _inside _Jace's body right now?" asked Link, now getting frustrated of Palutena's skeptics.

"Oh that's the best part!" she said ecstatically, "Remember my Mirror? And the 3rd Dimensional Screen? These two relics are needed for a very special summoning. The man you see, inhabiting Jace's body…" she paused, "…it's Simon."

"Simon?" Pit said, "As in like… Simon says?"

"Who's Simon?" asked Zelda.

"Wait a minute! I know who Simon is…" Peach exclaimed, "Toadsworth told me the story of Simon when I was only a mere child. I remember a famous quote from the tale of legends book."

All eyes turned to Peach as she closed hers and recalled the words from the story.

"_As Master Hand rules the world, his mortal half son shall lead it to salvation. For once his summoning is complete and he finds a body as a vessel, he shall be called_…"

All Nintendo characters let out a sharp gasp. They remembered that story. And they remember how it ended.

"…the White Knight?" Link turned pale.

"Wait?" Luigi exclaimed, "Simon is the White Knight?"

Mario nodded.

**xxx**

**Nintendo World**

"So let me get this straight." Oshawott spoke, back at the Nintendo World, "You're a Pokémon… who claims himself to be human. And I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yeah, well believe all you want. I…" Pikachu stopped, noticing the red scarf around his neck, "Ooh, a scarf! Nice touch."

"If you're really human, then where do you come from?" Oshawott asked, "Kanto? Johto? Hoenn? Shinoh?" she gasped, "Unova?!"

"No, New York."

Oshawott frowned, "Huh?"

Pikachu threw a dismissive hand, "You wouldn't understand anyway." He paused, "much like I don't understand why I'm here or how I got here. I do remember I was attacked by a snake. A Freakish… oh god, that Freakish."

Oshawott gasped, "The Freakish! I know the Freakish!"

Pikachu looked back at Oshawott, "You do?"

"Yeah!" Oshawott pulled out, as if by magic, a picture. She handed it to Pikachu. Pikachu examined the picture.

"Uhh… that's an Arbok." Pikachu said.

"Yeah!" Oshawott said, "Arbok the Freakish. He's been terrorizing our land for months ever since he settled over the Everglade Cave southwest from…!" Oshawott paused, "Ohh, snap! I cannot believe I forgot!" she snatched the picture from Pikachu.

"What?" Pikachu said.

"I gotta head back to camp!" she said, "I'm supposed to join the Pokémon Exploration Council this morning! See I wanna be an adventurer… long story short. I'm late!"

Oshawott took off running. "Hey wait!" Pikachu called out, following in four legs, "Wait for me! I'm coming with you."

xxx

Mario, Link, Pit and Palutena entered the room. They briefly stared at Jace. Jace stared back. Astonished eyes were exchanged.

Jenn and Hunt looked back and forth. Noir gazed curiously. Dimentio was not in the room at that moment. The silence in the room was quite eerie.

"Er… Mario?" Jenn called out the Italian plumber.

"Oh, right! Mamamia…" Mario giggled mirthlessly, "We should have you all head out! Like…" he hesitated, "Right away!"

Link and Pit went behind Jenn and Hunt and pushed them toward the exit. "Nothing to see here, folks! Nothing to see here!" Pit said.

"Someone needs their beauty rest before heading back tomorrow." Link said.

Jenn stopped, "Wait! So Jace is getting released tomorrow?" she said with a huge smile on her face. Hunt smiled as well.

"Yeah, that's right! What more proof do you want?" Pit barked.

Link shot the angel a glare, "PIT!"

"Sorry… my bad…not being subtle here."

Palutena gazed at Noir. Noir blinked, not liking the way she was looking at him. But then he quickly got the message once her eyes narrowed. "Oh, right!" he followed the others out of the room, "you want me out of the room too. Yeah…"

With Hunt, Jenn, and Noir finally out of the room, Link closed the door and he, Mario, Pit and Palutena finally faced the brooding patient.

"Simon?" Pit carefully called him.

Jace let out a heavy sigh of relief, "Finally, someone calls me by my _real _name."

The Nintendo characters quickly encircled the patient, all chattering with questions at once.

"One at a time, please!" Simon, the White Knight inside Jace's body, raised his voice and the characters hushed.

He then turned to Palutena, "Lovely Palutena of Skyworld. I must thank you for awaking me in these dire times of need." He then frowned, "Although I am utterly displeased of the host you have chosen for me."

Palutena grinned nervously, "My apologies, my liege." She said, "But it was a last minute emergency. The boy, whose body you are inhabiting, had a terrifying encounter with your own worst enemy the Freakish. I had to do something to save him."

"Yes. The boy's friends enlightened me." Simon replied, "What of him by the way? Has he perished?"

"No." Pit scoffed disagreeably, "Palutena sent his soul wandering the Nintendo World…"

"He is NOT wandering the Nintendo World!" Palutena snapped, "He's occupying another body as we speak."

"Which body?" Link asked.

Palutena stammered, "…wuh-wuh-well, I would know if I _was_ in the Nintendo World! But my powers are limited in this realm as I am no longer a goddess, remember?"

Simon tut-tutted, "what an unfortunate news…"

"But the Nintendo World had been cursed!" Mario exclaimed, "When the villains stole the 3rd Dimensional Sphere! Most of the world seem to be frozen in an eternal loop of Smash and Battle Royale!" he said, reminiscing the time he and Jace battled the Wire Frames and had an encounter with Bowser at Delfino Plaza from the Rock Center.

"Wait, are you saying that anytime you enter the realm, you end up in a Smash Bros. match up instead?" Pit asked and the characters, except Simon, nodded.

"Sometimes we're able to access a part of our world that hasn't been cursed from anywhere in this world." Link said, reminiscing the time he rescued Zelda from Phantom Ganon with the help of Pat and Maple. He also remembered the Temple of Time being inside the Empire State Building.

"So many things wrong with this place…" Simon tut-tutted again.

"But all is-a not lost." Mario said with a smile, "We have settled in a special hub infused with magic inside a building in New York City: the Miiverse! We can settle there for the time being. Until you can fulfill your destiny, White Knight."

"It's really an awesome place!" Pit said, "It's found inside a store called _Nintendo World Store_."

Simon's eyes shot out, "Store?" he hissed; "our world has now been reduced to a _store_?"

The characters chattered again in negative response, "No, no! It's-a not like that." Mario finally said over the crowd, "It is actually something that…well, you won't understand. You'll have to sit down to hear the whole story. But long story short: this world and ours are somehow connected."

Simon pondered for a bit. "Guess I might have to see this for myself."

xxx

About a week later back at the MiiVerse in New York City,

Simon stared across the large spacious area filled with tons of Nintendo characters and floating screens.

"I now have seen this for myself." He muttered, shaking his head and tut-tutting again, "Yep. I don't like it."

"What do you mean you don't like it?" Jenn approached Simon angrily. She apparently had heard him. "It's the Miiverse. You've been here before."

"Err… what Simo…" Luigi quickly caught himself, "…aahh mamia I mean… Jace is trying… to say… is that this place needs remodeling."

The Nintendo characters all nodded in agreement. Luigi turned to Simon, patting his shoulder, "Am I right or am I right?"

"You're dead wrong." Simon bluntly said.

"How about we head out to school?" Hunt proposed, swinging his backpack over his shoulder, "You Jace need to catch up on all of your homework and lessons that you've missed."

"I think you mean yourself Hunt." Jenn said.

"No." Hunt frowned, "I mean Jace." He scoffed and mirthlessly chuckled, "Sheesh Jenn. I'm _always _on time with my stuffs. You don't have to be so right about everything."

Jenn shrugged, "Sorry. Just saying." As she turned to walk away, Hunt dropped his backpack, zipped it open and pulled out his calendar. All of his ToDos were blank for the week. He tugged on his collar, gulping and sweating.

xXx

**_Pokémon Mystery Dungeon World_**

Pikachu and Oshawott arrived at the Pokémon Village, just in time to hear a loud commotion. The Pokémon at the village were in full chatter mode over the latest news. Pikachu recognized slackened faces and furrowed brows, and beaded eyes darting about in concern as if searching for a place to hide.

Pikachu approached a Chansey and Deerling who were talking. Before he could even ask, he heard the Deerling.

"The poor sweet Togepi." The Deer Pokémon moped, "She was so young. If something were to happen to her, I don't know how Mama Togekiss will deal with this."

"Don't talk like all hope is lost, Deerling!" Chansey scowled, her voice sounded like an angry southern woman, "The Pokémon Exploration Council is on the case. They will send in adventurers to find her in no time."

Her voice grew hoarse as she crossed her tiny arms, "Ugh, that Arbok the Freakish will pay dearly for messing with a mama's child. If that was my child captured by him, I swear to the Great Arceus I'll stuff him to an egg."

"Wait, what happened to the Togepi?" Pikachu finally asked.

The two Pokémon turned to him and Oshawott. "Oh, I guess you youngsters aren't in the know recently." Said the Deerling, "A baby Togepi has been kidnapped by Arbok the Freakish. He threatened the village with our entire food supply as ransom."

"That's terrible!" Oshawott's voice cracked.

"Y'know what's terrible!" Chansey exclaimed, "What Arbok the Freakish did to that poor Pachirisu last year." She balked, "Augh! They were no ransom whatsoever!"

Both Pikachu and Oshawott peered about wild-eyed. Oshawott looked back and spotted a large tent the shape of an Entei. The handlebar mustache on the Entei's face formed the border of the tent entrance with curtains attached to it. Immediately Oshawott went straight for it. Pikachu briefly stared, slack-jawed, at the tent.

"I don't remember an Entei tent in a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game." The mind of the teen in the Electric Pokémon body muttered before going after Oshawott.

Oshawott pulled the curtain open and was now at the presence of the Council, seated around a wooden table. There was a loud argument between a Primeape and a Loudred.

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT WE SHOULD NOT GIVE UP OUR FOOD?!" Loudred roared, "YOU RATHER SEE THAT BABY TOGEPI BECOME A HARD-BOILED EGG INSTEAD?!"

"Not until we are AB-SO-LU-TE-LY sure that Baby Togepi is still safe!" Primeape raged.

"It's Arbok the Freakish!"

"So?"

"They are ALWAYS hungry!"

"Not like the regular Arbok!"

"So you see my point?!"

Primeape was about to say argue some more but then stopped, quavering. "Uh… well, I…!"

"Oh, Toge-Toge-pleease!" The argument at the table stopped and all refocused on the large Togekiss before them. The face of the mother Jubilee Pokémon was etched with sorrows. "You've got to help my baby… if something were to happen to her, I… I…" she finally dissolved into tears.

"Do not worry, Madam Togekiss." A Meowth who was at the table said with a reassuring smile, "We won't let anything bad happen with your baby. We're actually getting new adventurers today and I have a good feeling they're gonna be stronger than the last."

"Unless they let Baby Togepi get turned into a hard-boiled egg or meet the same fate as Pachirisu last year," sighed a male Swanna, whose voice sounded like a grumpy old rich man. "Seriously that was ugly."

All heads turned to him darkly, but he paid no attention and went on talking, "I mean, seriously, talk about a letdown to see that Pachirisu's body covered in fur and b—!"

"SWANNA!" the table roared. Swanna immediately caught himself before finishing his sentence. Too late. Mama Togekiss wailed in grief.

"Way to go, Swanna," muttered a Hitmonlee at the table.

"You just made a bad situation worse," snorted a Tepig at the table, while a Skitty and a Snivy were collectively shaking their heads.

"What?" Swanna yelped, "I totally forgot she was still there!"

"All right, all right. Please settle down at the table." Entei's loud voice calmed the table before it got ugly. Pikachu and Oshawott noticed him sitting at the far end side of the table on a large cushion chair. The legendary dog Pokémon turned to Mama Togekiss, "Your baby will be rescued. I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, ma'am."

Entei paused. Looking past Mama Togekiss he saw Oshawott and Pikachu there. "And what do we have here? Newcomers?" he spoke.

Finally the table turned to the two newcomers. Pikachu saw who were at the table besides Entei at the end of it. To the left side were Loudred, Meowth, Swanna, and Hitmonlee. And to the right side were Skitty, Tepig, Snivy, and Primeape.

"Hi! I'm Oshawott! And I want to apply for the new position of Pokémon adventurers!" the cheerful sea otter Pokémon said before turning to Mama Togekiss, "Don't worry! I'll definitely saved your baby Togepi!"

Mama Togekiss whimpered as she left.

"New Pokémon Adventurers heh?" Primeape snorted, looking over Oshawott, "And who's that?"

"Oh yeah!" Oshawott turned to her new companion, "This is my new pal: Pikachu! He calls himself Jace!"

"Hmm-hmm." Pikachu nodded, "That's because I'm actually human."

The Pokémon Council exploded with laughter. Pikachu stepped back, offended, "What, it's true! I really am human!"

The Council laughed some more.

"Yeah!" Meowth wiped off a tear, "And I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

The Council's laughter intensified.

Pikachu blew a raspberry, "Don't be ridiculous, Meowth. You're not really Ash Ketchum from Pallet—!" he paused uncomfortably, "Ohhhhh… you were being sarcastic were you?"

"So young Pokémon!" Entei cleared his throat and formed a straight face, "You think you can deal with Arbok the Freakish?"

Pikachu blinked for a moment, "I can't even deal with the _real_ Freakish."

The Council exchanged puzzled glances. "…yeah, long story." Pikachu threw a dismissive hand, "So me, dealing with an Arbok in _this _body? I don't think so."

As he turned to walk away, Oshawott pulled him back, "Oh, of course you can so!" a sinister smile came to her face, "Remember when you said that the Council can't even clean up their paws before engaging into a Pokémon battle." Oshawott observed the widened eyes of the council members, "True story!" she added.

"What do you mean we don't clean up our paws?" Loudred barked, the earth literally shook at his ferocious loud noise.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?!" hissed Skitty.

"What?" Pikachu shook his head, "No!" he angrily turned to Oshawott, "I never said that! Don't lie man!"

"Well, I'll be!" Oshawott scoffed, "I thought it was true when you said that Entei never shaved that iron mustache off him."

The table gasped. All eyes turned to a tight-lipped Entei. Pikachu forced a smile.

"It's not a mustache. It's a face mark." Entei said gruffly after a short silence, his red face was now turning beet purple, "And I do not approve of such insult from hooligans like the likes of you!"

Entei leapt over from his seat and slammed his paws to the table. The Pokémon before him startled.

"Very well then, Pikachu. Or Jace. Or whatever the Underworld you are called…" the legendary Pokémon slowly prowled toward Pikachu, "how about we make a bet."

He didn't stop until he was nose-to-nose with him.

"Rescue Togepi," he said, "from Arbok the Freakish." He narrowed his eyes, "Alone."

Pikachu's eyes widened, taking on a hunted look. They darted back and forth briefly before facing Entei's again, "Ah…Alone?" his voice struggled to control quavering.

"Alone!" Entei bellowed, "And your little Sea Otter friend here will not only get accepted as a Pokémon Adventurer, but will get her seat as member of this Council." Entei smiled wryly, "And you will get the Leader seat."

The announcement sent uproar at the Council table. "Meow wait a minute!" Meowth exclaimed.

"That means you'll step down?" Snivy added.

"That's absurd!" Tepig expressed shock.

Entei faced the concerned Pokémon. "That exactly what I mean." He said before turning back to Pikachu again, "But fail on your mission… and not only you will feel the pain of seeing a mother lose a child, but you will feel the regret of not rescuing the baby in the first place."

"So the guilt trip is my punishment?" Pikachu paused, "All righty then. If you say so." He smirked, "But guess what Entei. I'll have Baby Togepi rescued before you can even growl your own name."

Entei's scorching look remained.

xXx

-**NYU-**

"JACE!"

Maple screamed from the top of her lungs. Her fast legs pounded the pavement as she ran past the crowd full of college students at the NYU campus. She had spotted Jace and Hunt about a mile from 5th Avenue and after she heard about the London accident, she was thrilled to see he was okay.

But she wouldn't take that chance again, to see Jace slip out of her grasp this easily. She loved him too much and things need to be said face-to-face.

"JACE!" she yelled again. Jace stopped walking and turned around. She stopped inches close to him and bent down, gasping and heaving of breath. Dots were swirling around her visions. Jace just stared back. Yet he showed no concern.

"Can I help you?" his voice was deep, almost rugged. Maple squinted. Maybe her hearing was off, since she almost ran ten blocks.

She shook her head, "Y-yeah! Of course I…I… I wanted to talk to you…"

"You want to seat down?"

Maple slammed her hands on his shoulders, "NO!" she barked, "No, I will NOT seat down!" she shook her head, breathing slightly, "Jace, I heard what happened to you in London! It was SO cruel!"

"Wha—!" Maple wrapped around him in a tight hug before he could speak. The stunned Jace gasped. "Ohh…kay…?"

"I will never let you go! Never ever, EVER!"

She finally released him after one good solid minute. Jace still looked lost.

"Is this about the London thing again?"

"You call your near-death experience with a vicious beast a _thing_?" she slapped his shoulder, "NO! Don't ever say that! Or even joke about that!"

Jace shrugged.

"Listen!" she seized him by the shoulders again, "After what I heard, I don't think I wanna take ANY chances! I love you, Jacen! I've always loved you since we were on that plane!"

"Actually, lady, it's Si—!"

Maple pulled Jace, capturing him to her lips before he could finish his sentence. His lips were soft. Minty-fresh. Jace kissed back, eyes closed as if enchanted by the embrace of her strawberry-swirl lips.

Again after another good minute she released him. She breathed a nice sigh, then briefly observed Jace who blinked back, as if from a trance. He finally turned back to her. His face was indifferent.

"…oh." She uttered, face flushing pink, "You… didn't like that?"

He reached up to her face, "Actually." His fingers gently brushed a lock of her hair over her left ear, "Nicest moment I've had so far." A smirk appeared.

Maple smiled back, "Really?" she cheered, "Does that mean we're…boyfriend and girlfriend?" she hesitated, already fretting about her parents and what they would say about this hookup since she was 13 and he 19.

But Jace looked like he didn't care. His smile remained.

"JACE!" Hunt's shout startled Maple. But Jace remained focused on her. Hunt reached up to the now new couple and grabbed his best friend by the arm, "Dude, come on! We're gonna be late for History class!"

"I see History already." He then winked at Maple. Maple's face was like a red tomato. She giggled through her teeth.

Hunt frowned in disgust, "Ew." finally pulled Jace away from the girl. Jace still stared at her with his smile. Maple cocked her head to one side, dreamily smiling and sighing, watching her new boyfriend disappearing into the crowd.

"MAPLE!" her friend Pat reached her at last. She noticed her face, "Please don't tell me…!"

"It's real!" she giggled, "Jace and I are finally a couple! We're finally Japle!"

Pat frowned, "Japle? Should it be more like… Mace?"

"HEY, I don't want our mashup love name to be the name of a bludgeoning weapon!"

Pat backed out, "Sorry."

Maple sighed again, "We're gonna be together forever!"

xXx

Student listened—or tried to listen attentively—to the professor's lecture on the story of Abdul-Rahman, African prince amongst slaves from the 1700s. A story of royalty and drama all revolving around the African slavery well known in the United States.

"Wait…whoa. Back the truck up." Simon said vehemently. All heads in the classroom stopped what they were focused on and turned toward him.

"Are you saying…" Jace's clone began, "that people like you… took other people like you as slaves, just because of the color of their… what now? Their _skins_?"

Silence fell in the classroom. Then a few sniggering were faintly heard from a distance as Simon deepened his frown.

"What? Are you for real?" Simon said gruffly.

"Uhh…" the professor hesitated, "Yes. We are for real."

"Jacen," spoke Simone, the most popular girl from high school. She strangely gazed at Simon-who, like everyone else, still thought was Jace-not expecting his strong opinion. Yet she didn't like it.

"I thought you knew that kind of stuff back in high school." She paused, "Black History Month? The 1970s?" she paused again, "Remember?"

Simon raised an eyebrow. He then turned to Hunt after a brief pause, "Okay, why is everybody keep calling me Jacen? Or Jace? Or J-Dog?!" he snarled that last nickname.

"Uhh…" Hunt hesitated, "Because it's your name? Unless you'd rather switch back to Takahashi."

"What?" Simon hissed, "Ew. Sounds like some bad fruit salad."

"It is a touchy subject, Mr. Riders." The professor replied to his student, "But bear with me for a second. The story of _Prince Abdul-Rahman_ gets interesting…"

"Okay, now he calls me Mr. Riders." Simon tossed his arms and shook his head, steaming. Simon right now felt all kind of unpleasant things about being in this world: confusion, fear, troubled… anger and irritation were on top of all of that most of all. Because ever since he awoke, he awoke in some kid's body. Not his own. And this kid—Jace, or Takahashu or whatever his name was—he didn't know how the hell he should blend in this body. It wasn't comfortable!

To make things worse, he had to sit in this place called a classroom listening to some boring stupid teacher teaching about the importance of controlling people. Even princes!

He had to leave before he grabbed someone's head and ran it to a wall. Most preferably, that geek boy who calls himself his best friend. He was the closest head anyway.

"…unbelievable." He said, pulling off his seat and squeezed past the row of chairs. Students kept their attention on the brooding man.

"Wuh…JACE?!" Hunt hissed, trying to sound discreet, but Simon was already heading for the exit and people had their eyes on him and Hunt already. Hunt remained seated, grinning nervously at the crowd. Jace made a complete fool of himself and embarrassed him too. In front of his favorite class of all six favorite classes.

"…suh…sorry guys." He said, quickly pulling off his seat and moved through in a crouching position. His attention remained on the professor, while trying to avoid students' contacts. "Jacen is not feeling himself today." He lied, "I'll be…" he paused, "I'm gonna have to bring him right back. So…"

Hunt whipped toward the exit and took off in a mad dash.

xXx

Simon was by the school square when he blew a whistle between his fingers. Immediately two green pipes, an Arwing, a glowing pillar of light, a DK Barrel, a gust of wind, a holographic elevator, an egg, a Warp Star, and a Pokeball all emerged out of nowhere revealing Mario, Luigi, Fox, Pit, DK, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, and Pikachu.

"SIMON!" Luigi cheered on his name with a big smile on his mustached face. The smile vanished once he saw hate glittering in Simon's Jace eyes.

"You…are… Simon, right?" Luigi uttered.

Simon smiled sardonically. "Here's something you should know about the people of this place." The man began darkly at the thought of being on this planet.

"They use to treat their own people as slaves." He repeated again, "Their _own_ people. Now imagine if these same people started using YOU as slaves. Or worse…" he paused uncomfortably, "…the abomination they call video game characters."

A great gasp left the Nintendo characters' throat. "What horror huh?" Simon added.

"You think?" Pit exclaimed, "Before you know it they'll be like, forcing you to shoot a light arrow by the push of one button!"

"Or make you jump over crates and force you to reach a goal…" Mario muttered.

"Or do a Barrel Roll…" Fox glowered.

"Or swing your sword till your arm fall off." Link stiffened.

"Wuhh…no…." Kirby was shaking in place, already thinking bad thoughts about being controlled.

"Uh-huh!" Yoshi shook his head as his automated voice generator translated, [_…or make you eat three enemies and lay three eggs at the same time…_] "Ohhh…" he lowered his Dino head, [_talk about a pain in the hiney…_]

All characters disturbingly scowled at Yoshi.

"TMI, Yoshi." Simon muttered.

"So…" Fox paused, "what do you propose we should do?"

All attention turned back to Simon.

"As White Knight, I have a duty to carry." His pupils cautiously gazed up the sky, "Half of the Nintendo World somehow has been frozen in time. And yet, here you all are in another world. The plan is simple." He paused, "For one world to be restored…"

He turned to the characters, "…another one has to go."

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

xXx

The Nintendo characters collectively shouted out in disagreement to Simon's proposed plan.

"What do you mean another one has to go?" exclaimed Luigi.

"I mean this world you are in has to go." He said again.

The Nintendo characters argued again collectively.

"ONE AT A TIME, PLEASE." Simon shouted again and the noise lowered.

"You can't do that Simon!" Fox said, "What about all the people living here?"

"Only the Nintendo characters trapped in the Miiverse will be rescued" he said."They will find their way back home. But everyone else has to go. We'll start preparation in the morn."

The brooding White Knight in Jace's body walked away as the characters chattered again, trying to reason with him. "End of discussion." Simon shouted as he disappeared into the student crowd. But that didn't stop the Nintendo characters from going after him, safe Pit and Palutena.

Pit turned to the goddess. "See what you did, Lady Palutena!" he said brazenly before going after the group. Palutena played with her clammy fingers. "Oh dear…" she quavered, "That's not the Simon the White Knight I was told would bring salvation."

xXx

_He thought to be a dream. Yet it felt too real to be a dream._

_The terrified teen, covered in blood, saw himself holding on tight to a bell's shackle, wedged tightly to a ceiling. His jaws were quivering. His olive green eyes were watery, never left sight of his predator: a giant Titanoboa-sized python. The snake's eyes were bright, sharp and able to clutch anyone's chest just by its stare. Its arid greenish-brown skin encircled 50 feet below the teen._

_The teen looked up and swung one tired arm up to the shackle again and pushed himself up. He has been grabbing hold on to it like his life depended on it. He didn't know how long he's been there but he was getting pretty exhausted. He then looked back down at the snake. The snake impatiently clapped its jaws at him, hoping to see its dinner fall right into its mouth._

_The shackle suddenly made a noise. A scary one. The teen suddenly found himself in a crooked position. He quickly looked up. The shackle was getting loose. He hopelessly watched a nail from it slip out of its hole and hit the floor in a clatter. He stammered, looking back and forth. His palms were now sweating and he was rapidly sliding down._

_"I can't be… can't be slipping…" he swung another hand up, but it slid down again. He tried again. The more he tried, the more he was heading down. His panic increased. His breath intensified. "No… NO…!"_

_The shackle finally snapped, letting go off the teen who plummeted 50 feet to the python's jaws, screaming… … …_

"PIKAAAA!"

Pikachu leapt off from his leaf bed, covered in sweat. Oshawott woke up as well, startled by his scream.

"Jace…?" Oshawott called him as Pikachu turned to her. "Jace, what's wrong?"

Pikachu violently shook his head and pulled out of bed, "I can't do this."

Oshawott was now widely awake, "What?"

"I said I can't do this!" Pikachu's voice raised, "I can't face your Freakish! That Arbok! I QUIT!" the Pokémon headed for the exit.

Oshawott pulled out of bed also, "What are you talking about you quit?"

"You know full well what I'm talking about."

"So you just gonna quit?" Oshawott barked, "Are you MAD?!"

"Even if I should be in a psych ward, yes. I'm quitting!"

"So you're just gonna quit? You're just gonna back out like a chicken? I thought we were all in this together!"

"Yeah, well you thought wrong." Pikachu turned around and as he reached the exit, Oshawott screamed, "FINE!"

He stopped and faced her.

"Be that way!" Oshawott went on, "Be a quitter for all I care! I was looking up to you to help me on the adventure but I guess I relied on the wrong kind of Pokémon! But know this:" she pointed her white paw at him, "There's a baby Togepi out there, about to get devoured by a heartless Arbok, and a mother is about to lose her baby. THAT baby! How would YOU feel if that baby was your best friend? Or your family, like your cousin? Or maybe your baby brother or sister! Would you actually quit on your rescue mission?!"

The Electric Pokémon seemed troubled. But troubled as in not focused on what Oshawott was telling him and too busy worrying about a snake turning his entire body into a succulent filling meal. Pikachu ran out without a word. Oshawott couldn't help but shake her head and scream frustratingly.

By the time Pikachu was out in the field, staring at his reflection by a flowing crystal river nearby, Oshawott's statement was getting clearer. "_How would YOU feel if that baby was your best friend? Or your family, like your cousin? Or maybe your baby brother or sister! Would you actually quit on your rescue mission?!_"

"No." Pikachu frowned, looking away from the water to face the dusky skies. "I'm not quitting on my rescue mission. I'm just… scared, that's all. Just…"

He looked back again at his reflection and instead of his Pokemon image staring back, he saw himself, in human form.

"Scared?" The reflection spat, "Dude, what are you? a coward?"

Pikachu's beady eyes widened. He looked at his hands: they were still Pikachu's hands. But the reflection was Jace himself!

"Uhh… What?"

"You're Jacen Riders!" The reflection said, "Just because you're now in the body of a Pikachu in the Pokemon mystery dungeon game world, doesn't mean you have to start acting like a chicken Pokemon."

"Hey!" Pikachu hissed, "I'm not a chicken Pokemon!"

Jace scoffed, grinning, "Right. I'm not the one who ran out of camp like one on Thanksgiving Day." The reflection paused, "wait; scratch that. That's a turkey. But nonetheless, you're still a chicken."

"Aren't you supposed to be my conscience encouraging me on what to do and not taunting me?"

The reflection laughed heartily, "Dude. It's like you don't know me at all. Even Hunt would say 'who are you and what have you done with my best friend'. Remember when Jenn was captured by that giant DK? Or when Phantom Ganon terrorized Pat and Maple? You were brave. Fearless. You rescued them without hesitation. That's Jacen Riders. That's who you are."

"If I were you," the reflection went on, "without the Pikachu body of course, I'd go out there and rescue that Baby Togepi without a question."

"What about the Freakish?"

The reflection hesitated, "well, I'd… still…"

Pikachu crossed his arms, watching his reflection stammering for a while. The reflection finally snapped, "…just do as I say!"

A pebble hit the river, startling Pikachu. He looked up and saw a startled Aipom taking off on one of the trees. He turned back to the river. The now garbled reflection was back to Pikachu.

"Jacen Riders…" Pikachu whispered, "That's who you are. That's who am I. I'm no coward. I'm brave and fearless!"

He gazed over the horizon, with full determination, "don't worry Togepi. I'll get you outta there from that monster. I'll make sure he regrets crossing path with me!"

xxx

**Back in NYC**

Mario, Kirby, Yoshi, Link, and Pit were running from different streets and avenues. Finally they stopped, before each other in the middle of Times Square.

"There you are guys!" Pit said cheerfully, "Miss me?"

"Have you seen Simon?" Link asked the group.

"He's like he vanished!" Luigi complained.

Yoshi turned to his right and spotted Simon, "OHH!" he pointed with a gasp, [_I see him!_]

All heads turned to Simon, walking aimlessly down the busy street. A speeding taxi screeched to a full stop, inches before it could strike Simon. Simon jumped back, wide-eyed at the driver.

The driver angrily slammed on his honk. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, KID?"

Simon cocked his head on one side, "Kid?" he hissed that word in disgust as he approached the taxi door, "Kid."

He threw a punch through the window, shattering it. The driver gasped as the hand wrapped around his collar and yanked him off his seat. The seatbelt snapped.

"You wanna call me a kid again?" Simon said hotly.

The driver shook his head, "N-No sir…" his voice trembled, "You no kid, sir… please spare me. Got a wife and kids to take care of…" he whimpered.

"JACE!"

Simon rolled his eyes, "Again with that name…" he muttered, dropped the taxi driver, and turned to the person who called him. It was that girl from before. The Smash Bros. were about to approach him as well but then they stopped at the sight of Maple. They quickly hid to a corner to watch.

"Oh hello." He said to her, "Maple was it?"

Maple squinted. Since when does he not know my name? She quickly went back to the subject. "What are you doing to that poor taxi driver?"

Tires were heard screeching again, and Simon briefly watched the taxicab speeding off.

"Just wanted to give him a piece of my mind is all." Simon turned back to Maple, "Little booger called me a kid. Can you believe that?"

"But it's no reason for you to attack him. And you're no kid. You're my mature boyfriend Jacen Riders, who definitely need…"

Maple then stopped, an idea was forming in her head.

"…a makeover!" She gasped before turning to him, "Say, how about I cheer you up with a little shopping spree? You'll look more older!"

Simon hunched his lower lip to one side, "Can you do that?"

Maple dragged Simon with her to a nearby Subway station. The duo hopped on the next arrival subway and the speeding train flew to Herald Square. Both had no idea the Nintendo characters followed them.

Maple and Simon reached Herald Square's Macy's store and pulled out her dad's credit card. Simon can get any clothes he wants.

Simon tried a suit. He hated it, but Maple loved it.

He then tried on a leather jacket over white henley. He liked it but Maple hated the skinny jeans that went with it. Too Jonas Brothers.

Simon tried on a sweater vest ensemble, with flat loafers. Both of them hated it. Too geeky.

Maple made Simon just try on the boardshorts with new Puka shell necklace. She wouldn't stop drooling at this chic summer outfit. Simon found it creepy and rejected it.

Finally Simon got his outfit of choice: a short-sleeved embroidered shirt, skinny jeans and white leather shoes to match the shirt. He swung a beige leather jacket over his shoulder and couldn't help but smile at the outfit. Maple clapped her hands happily. Now that was a mature look and way sexy.

The duo left the mall in great spirits. The Smash Bros. spied on them the entire time.

"You have been an excellent company, Maple." Simon said, "It's a shame that I won't miss you any less when the Smash Brothers and I will destroy this world."

The smile on Maple's face vanished immediately. She slowly turned to Simon, "Wait, what?"

"JACE!" Mario called out his name. Simon sighed frustratingly, "Again with the name…" he muttered under his breath before turning to the Nintendo characters that approached.

"Aren't you supposed to be practicing for your…" Luigi hesitated, "…villain part on that Broadway show you're working on: World War Z?"

Simon frowned. So did Maple. "World War Z?"

"Talk about being subtle, Luigi." Fox angrily muttered at Luigi.

"Hope you don't mind, Maple." Link placed a hand on Maple's shoulder. Maple stared at the hand, as if possessed, "But we'd like a word with Simon in private if it pleases you."

Maple's face flushed pink, "…that's okay."

The Nintendo characters dragged Simon to a corner for their private conversation. The enamored Maple turned to walk away, sighing dreamily. First she got to agree with Jace to be her girlfriend; and now Link just touched her. Today was a good day.

Still fantasizing about it, she walked right into an alley. She stopped, looking around. She didn't know how long she's been walking, but it sure felt like a long time. And the alley looked all trashed with a public garbage extracting the foulest stench any disposal could eject.

"Gotta turn back." She wheeled around and standing right before her was a bearded man in torn clothing, wild hair and crooked teeth that made his gum about to come out.

"Hello, girlfriend."

"Excuse me sir…" Maple tried moving past the man but he stepped before her, blocking her path.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… just where do you think you're going, pretty face? I need money." He opened up his hand to her. Maple nervously chuckled. Her legs were shaking. The man walked before her, forcing her to a wall. She gasped, terror now filled her eyes.

"Better yet." The man slammed his hand to the wall right next to her face, "I need some love."

Maple screamed. Her terrifying cry reached Simon and the Smash Brothers' ears. The party looked at each other.

"Was that Maple?" Luigi said.

"She could be in trouble!" Pit exclaimed.

"See what I mean by this world giving you poison?" Simon muttered.

"Chastity later, Simon. We have to get to her!" Link said and the group ran for the scene.

xxx

The sunlight kissed Oshawott a blissful morning on the cheek. The sea otter Pokémon squinted through its glowing rays and shuffled to her side. She blinked to see an empty bed. A Pikachu was supposed to be there and now he's gone.

She jerked up, "Pikachu?" she looked around, "Pikachu, where are you?"

She turned to the bed again, finally noticing a broken wooden board right next to the bed. Carved writing on the plate of the board revealed a message. She got up and approached the board to read the message. It was from her Pokémon companion.

"Went to save Togepi from Arbok. Don't wait for me… WHAT?"

She wheeled around and took off in a mad dash, "…you're mad Pokémon! PIKACHU!"

xxx

Thousands of Ekans and Sevipers moved in rhythm to the music of a bongo, played in the background by a blind old Simisear. The Simisear spewed out a flamethrower, the fire struck the ground before slithering army and formed a large bonfire. The army's bewitching chant increased as they gathered around the fire, swaying into the music.

Pikachu has been watching the creepy ceremony from the top of the hill, hiding behind a large bushy rock. The mere sight of seeing this army of crawling snakes made his skin crawl itself.

"Bring on the meal!" Arbok roared. The leader Cobra Pokemon was before the army on top of a carved podium facing the fire.

The army split into two. Each group formed a line and stood side by side from each other, letting room for one Seviper to come before Arbok. Togepi was wedged between the Viper Pokemon's jaws. The baby Pokemon had formed itself into an egg, shaking with fear.

The Seviper dropped Togepi right before Arbok. Togepi looked around her. Too many snakes to deal with. Yet she wasn't old enough to defend herself. She wanted her mommy.

"Mommy is not coming to get you Togepi." Arbok said to the baby, as if he read her tiny mind. Licking his lips he added, "You're mine now."

Togepi shed tears, whimpering.

Pikachu who watched this entire time couldn't watch this anymore. Seeing this harmless Pokemon at the mercy of thousands of venomous ferocious snake Pokemon caused him to form a fist. He had to rescue that baby.

But how? Those weren't just the baby's threat. They were his biggest fears also. Just one look at one and he'll roll over to a ball cowering.

"Come on Jace." He said to himself, "You've got to rescue this baby. You've gotta!"

Shaking his head, he banished that fear of his and formed a determined scowl. He stepped out of his hiding place and ran down the hill.

Arbok watched his baby meal whimpering. He licked his lips, already imagining the taste of his food: tender and frightened.

"How do we devour this little one?" Seviper asked. The famished army turned to Arbok for his response.

"How about we throw it to the fire." An Ekans proposed and the army chattered in agreement.

"I don't like my food too cooked." Arbok hissed, shutting up the army, "yeah that's right. MY food. Bring it to me and I'll deal with it the same way I dealt with Pashirisu."

Togepi screamed. "Mommy…!"

"Ohh no you don't!"

Arbok thought he heard one of his people object. But it didn't sound like one of them. He observed the army who all exchanged the same puzzled glances as he did before he finally caught sight of a yellow creature running down the hill.

"A Pikachu?" Arbok gasped.

Pikachu came to a full stop before the creepy ritual. "You're not eating anybody today!" He shouted, "Not when I'm here!"

"So you'd rather be my next meal?" The Arbok asked.

"If you don't eat the Togepi." Pikachu said, before a smirk passed to his lips, "but either way, you don't wanna mess with me, slithering hag."

Arbok's eyes widened, "HAG?" The snake then scowled. Immediately the army of snakes all turned to corner and surround the Pikachu. Pikachu's fear returned anew.

"Not panicking… Not panicking…" He whispered to himself.

Arbok pushed the baby Togepi asides, turning his full attention on his new victim. "Army!" The snake commanded, "Make an exception: have my next meal thrown into the fire! We'll have some Roasted Rodent tonight!"

xxx

"Come on baby girl. I just want my next meal to be for the price of two…" The creepy crept closer to Maple.

"I'd rather die, you sick freak!" Maple screamed, pushing the man off her, "Get off me!" Maple finally shoved him couple of steps off her and threw a slap across his face. The man flinched. She took off.

But then a hand shot out and grabbed her by the hair before she could even get far. She screamed again and found herself at the man's headlock. "You just made a terrible mistake, baby girl."

A light arrow zipped past the man, slicing his cheek. The man let go off Maple and held on his burning bleeding face, howling. Maple stumbled back and turned around. She saw Pit right above her. He had fired an arrow at the man.

The man wheeled around, "WHO DID TH-!" Before he could finish, Simon landed right in front of him as if he just dropped from the building. The White Knight threw a punch, sending the man flying to a pile of garbage. The arriving Smash Brothers cheered on. Maple brought a huge smile on her face.

Simon approached the man and grabbed him by the colon of his shirt, "this is why people like you makes me wanna do things." He threw another punch. Maple, who watched Simon beating the crap out of the creep, could've sworn she saw half his jaw fly off his mouth. Another solid fist to the face and he let go off the man. The man stumbled back, covered in blood. He growled and screamed. "CHAAAAA-!"

xxx

"-AAAAAAARGE!"

Arbok roared at his army who did just that: they charged up right at the Pikachu intruder. Pikachu leapt from the ground and jumped from snake head to the next. At every step on their heads, his spine would shuddered and he would gasped distressingly. "HAA-HAA-WHOO—HAA…!"

The cold scaly feeling of these legless vermin were too much to bear. But he remained focus on the goal and that was to rescue Togepi, who whimpered quietly.

"Not panicking… Not panicking… Still not panicking…"

"Help me!" The baby Togepi cried out.

Pikachu closed in on his rescue target. "I'M COMING FOR YOU, TOGEPI!"

Arbok stepped in before Pikachu, blocking the path to Togepi. The snake bore its fangs. Pikachu freaked out and landed right next to the terrifying Pokémon.

The Pikachu crawled backward as Arbok menacingly approached. "Panicking… panicking…!" Pikachu gasped. The Ekans and Sevipers Army slowly cornered him.

"You just made a big mistake, Pikachu." Arbok closed in.

xxx

**NYC**

Simon couldn't stop punching the gut out of the perverted man. Punches after punches landed on the man's lower abdomen. The man gasped in pain, shooting spit off its mouth at the impact, till the mucus ended up becoming blood.

"Oh my gosh, Jace!" Maple screamed, "Stop it! STOP IT! Stop—! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HIM!"

Simon grabbed the man by the neck and threw him over his back, slamming him to the ground. The man quickly got up to his feet. Simon took a threatening step, "What?"

The man screamed, "Get away from me, you freak!" then took off running and still screaming.

Simon brushed his hands together, "That should take care of him."

He then turned to face Maple and the Smash Brothers who all stared back, jaws dropped.

"What?" he shrugged.

xxx

"You just made a big mistake, Pikachu." Arbok closed in.

Pikachu was once again about to scream in terror and cave in when he remembered his reflection, _"You're Jacen Riders! Just because you're now in the body of a Pikachu in the Pokemon mystery dungeon game world, doesn't mean you have to start acting like a chicken Pokemon."_

Pikachu hated calling himself a chicken. He's no chicken. Taking a deep breath, courage finally etched his face.

"No, Arbok. YOU'RE the one making the big mistake here."

Pikachu jumped back to his feet. Electricity danced on his cheeks. The snake army slowly moved back.

"He's gonna blow!" one Seviper hissed.

"PIKAAAA…!"

"Let's get outta here!" An Ekans panicked and the snake army turned to flee. Arbok hissed, "COWARD! Where do y'all think you're going! Get back he—!"

"CHUUUU!"

A surge of Thunder coursed from Pikachu and spread across the army. The snake army yelped, their bodies coursed in electricity. One thunder jolt struck Arbok. Arbok screamed as his slithering body extracted smoke and was charring.

Togepi who was watching sniffled back her tears. And Oshawott came in just in time to witness the electric event.

"GO Pikachu!" Oshawott pumped her fists in the air, "Knock these guys off their feet!" she then stopped cheering, "…wait, snakes don't have feet."

Pikachu released his attack off the army and looked around the pile of smoked snakes around him.

He looked up to see the Simisear, staring back with fears glittering in its eyes. The Simisear took off in a panic.

He finally turned to the groggy snake leader Arbok. Arbok the Freakish, who was not so powerful anymore, struggled to stay up.

Togepi clapped her hands happily, "Yeaaah! You saved me!" She jumped to Arbok's head, forcing the snake to crash to the ground, and leapt toward her rescuer Pikachu in an embrace.

"We did it! We did it! We did it!" Pikachu twirled Togepi around, cheering. Togepi trilled.

"I can't believe you rescued me, Mister Pikachu!" Togepi smiled, "Thank you."

The duo stopped twirling. "I can't believe I got over my childhood fear of snakes!" Pikachu said, "Thank _you, _Togepi." He pinched her cheek. She trilled at his touch. "Oh my gosh, you are actually CUTER than I thought!"

"I can't believe we actually did it!" Oshawott joined in the celebration. Pikachu and Togepi turned to her, dancing on her feet, "You and me, Next Pokémon Adventurers! Ready to take on any Freakishes terrorizing the region! WHOO!"

"Err… actually Oshawott, you didn't do anything." Pikachu said.

Oshawott scoffed, "…hey, way to ruin the mood." She crossed her arms, pouting.

"No, no, YOU didn't do anything with attacking the snakes. But you did motivate me to get over my fear." Pikachu said, "Thanks for your pep talk from last night."

"Oh, what I said?" Oshawott blushed, "Oh that was no pep talk! I thought I was just insulting you. Sorry."

"So you're Pokémon Adventurers?" Togepi asked. "I always wanted to be a Pokémon Adventurer." She said, "but I'm too young and Mama wouldn't let me." The egg Pokémon gasped, "Oh my goodness, Mama. Where is Mama? I wanna see Mama!"

"She's still back at the village." Oshawott replied. "She's been worried sick about you."

"But don't worry," Pikachu said, "We're gonna take you to her. She's gonna be happy to see you safe and sound."

Togepi trilled again, "Oh thank you, thank you, Mister and Madam Adventurers!"

Pikachu carried the baby Togepi to his back as Oshawott led the way out, past the charred, electrocuted dead pile of Ekans and Sevipers. Arbok groaned, struggled to lift its head up but then crashed back to the ground.

xxx

**NYC**

"Thanks for rescuing me from that creep, Jace." Maple said to the White Knight, still unaware of his true nature and identity inside Jace's body. The duo were walking down Herald Square, enjoying each a vanilla ice cream cone.

"But did you really have to beat up that guy, almost killing him in the process?" she said with concern, "That's not like you to do that."

Simon gazed back at her briefly, "You're right." He almost sounded solemn, "It's not really me."

Maple curiously raised her eyebrow. Simon looked away, watching the vanilla slowly melting.

"Did something happen back in London? With the Freakish?" Maple asked, "Is that why you're acting this way?"

Simon sighed in frustration, shaking his head, "I don't even know what happened in London." He turned back to Maple, "Blimey, I don't even know what London is!"

"What? What are you talking about?" the baffled Maple asked, "And who says blimey?"

"There's something you should know." Simon was about to reveal all when he heard Hunt again calling him by that name again. "JACE!"

He rolled his eyes and sighed frustratingly, "Bloody hell…" he angrily turned to Hunt, "can you ever—?"

Hunt looked glassy-eyed. Simon restrained himself from yelling further. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat, "You know what? Call me what you want…Hunt." He smiled, "Now, what is it you want?"

Hunt and Maple exchanged glances. Maple just shrugged. Hunt turned back to Simon, "…yeah, you just disappeared from not only the classroom but the campus too! What's up with you buddy? I'm worried. You know the doctor said that you shouldn't do too much activities right?"

"Ah yes, the doctor." Simon said, "Mainly Doctor Mario, right? Who listens to that goofy mustached bloke anyway for medical advice, hey?" he stopped smiling, "But if I were you, I'd stop worrying. I'm fine. Now, we'll see each other back at the abode?"

Hunt's frown deepened, "You mean the hotel?"

"Whatever you call it." Simon turned to Maple and smiled again, "And you, lovely. We'll see each other soon, yeah?"

"Right." Maple chuckled. Simon turned on his heel and left with Hunt. Maple watched the two best friends disappearing into the New York crowd.

"Something's wrong with you, Jace." Maple said to herself, frowning, "I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna have to find out sooner or later."

xxx

His vision were blurry. He couldn't see anything before him. There were no sun, no moon, no clouds… no seas or trees…definitely no birds or animals… especially no human, no people in front of him. It was just a big swirly blur of silver color and a lighter dark hue.

_HELLO WHITE KNIGHT… _a voice invaded his ears, like a boombox at high volume, trailing with echoes.

_…uh…wh… what? _He muttered, but he couldn't hear himself.

_Who's this? _He shouted hoping to hear his voice at the same volume as the one that spoke to him.

Nothing. The sound all came out mute.

_Who's this? Hello? Hell—! What's going on? _He could feel the panic in his voice. But hearing it was still a negative.

_I CAN HEAR YOU PERFECTLY, WHITE KNIGHT JACEN RIDERS. YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS… AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT I THINK._

_Huh? You can hear me? Hu—how did you know my name? Wait a minute…!_

A silhouette formed before him through the thickness of the blur. It was shaped like a hand.

_Gasp…who's this…?_

_IT'S ME, WHITE KNIGHT JACEN RIDERS. CAN'T YOU SEE THE SILHOUETTE?_

_Yeah, I can see you. Master Hand. _He whispered the name of the silhouette before him, _But you're all blurry. And if you can hear me, how come I can't hear my own voice?_

_THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE IN YOUR SPIRITUAL FORM. YOU CURRENTLY HAVE NO BODY. _

_No…body…?_

_HERE. LET ME RESTORE YOUR HEARING._

The blurry vision thickened some more, becoming a thick red wine color as a warm feeling overwhelmed his entire self.

The blurriness returned to its blurry state and the Master Hand silhouette came back anew.

_CAN YOU HEAR YOURSELF NOW?_

_I don't know. Let me check. _His voice was deep and clear again, _Yep. I can hear myself now. But why am I not in my body? What happened to me?_

_Remember your encounter with the Freakish? Long story short, your spirit was banished from your body and now you're here._

_So I didn't die? Well, thanks for the reminder. I kinda figured it out when I was in a Pikachu… wait a minute? Oshawott and Togepi? Where are they? What happened to them?_

_They're doing well. The baby Togepi is back to her mama, and Oshawott has joined the Adventurers with Pikachu. And don't you worry, Pikachu had no idea you temporarily took over his body._

_Great. When am I gonna get MY body back?_

_Better question: when are you gonna get a new body?_

_Wait…what? _

_I can give you a new and improved Jacen Riders, the White Knight. Stand back. You'll feel overwhelmed by a bright light!_

Immediately a great heat overwhelmed his entire self. The blurry vision brightened, forming a flashing light. He no longer saw the silhouette. He just saw that light.

**xXx**

**Here's some Super Smashing Scenes from the Next Episode**

- Harry Hanswood makes his debut appearance in the next episode, alongside famous _Punch-Out_ characters and Little Mac. Get ready for some Punch-Out!

- Harry Hanswood is out for Hans' blood! Hans now need the help of the Nintendo characters more than ever, mostly the help of Little Mac, who happens to be in NYC.

- It's Luigi's birthday, and Mario, Jenn, Hunt and the Nintendo characters must throw him the best surprise birthday party ever. Enjoy this event in the light of Nintendo's Year of Luigi event!

- Jace will discover the fate of two worlds. Meanwhile, Simon will find the magical 3DS.

* * *

**Next Episode:: **_Punching Mansion in 3D_

* * *

**Author's Note: **For the sequel, **Super Smash Bros. Universe, **go to "bit . ly /SSB-U" (remove the spaces). Check out new episodes periodically.

Also available on Wattpad. Download the Wattpad app on your mobile phone and use this code '5135457' for **SSB3D** and '5912575' for **SSBU** on the search bar.

Please review. Let me know what you think. **Flames will be deleted automatically and I will report the flamer, guest or not.**


	15. Ep10:: Punching Mansion in 3D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Smash Bros. The series itself belongs to Nintendo.

**Author's Note**: Like the new cover page? Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. I've been having a major case of writer's block. My writing is not as stellar as before and I don't have internet access much these days also. So... anyway, hope you still like this chapter. I'll try and make it better next time. :)

* * *

**Super Smash Bros. 3D**

* * *

_Punching Mansion in 3D_

* * *

The flashing light finally faded. Jace's visions slowly restored until he was able to see his surroundings. He stood before a Crystal Cave. The atmosphere was painted light-blue, with sheets of shimmering starlight like veils over its distant ceiling. The Crystals sprouted from the dark rocky walls like growing plant stem, radiating its light over the atmosphere. Most of the crystal appeared foamy. He looked around until he was able to spot one crystal projecting his reflection. Ever since he entered the Nintendo World and had been a Pikachu in the Mystery Dungeon plane, Jace has been wondering what he was going to look like. Now that Master Hand had completely transformed his look, that anxiety has heightened. He was seconds away from the moment of truth. His stomach gurgled like an angry blender.

Cautiously he approached the crystal. His metal boots echoed across the cave. He took a good look. Staring back was not Jace, but a white knight. A real white knight.

His face was hidden behind a silver-colored round-shaped motorbike helmet with spiky horns, the form of his spiky Mohawk hairstyle. The cross that formed the Smash symbol painted over the helm's eyes.

He sported a platinum breastplate armor, gleaming among the crystals. The armor had a long tail reaching down the back of his knees and it rested over an ice-colored plaid shirt with black checkers. Shoulder pads shaped like horns, glittering with crystal-blue linings comfortably hugged his shoulders. Armored leggings matched the armor and were over new dark blue jeans. A large double-edged sword with a gold grip and the Smash symbol as its pommel was attached to the left hip side of his armor.

The strangest part about his makeover was not the outfit, but his actual appearance. He was no longer live-action Jace. He was in _SSB3D _form. A crisp computer graphic form outlined by ink drawing. Jace couldn't take his eyes off himself: the new man in the mirroring crystal.

"Whoa…" he breathed, "I'm all…" he swallowed hard, "I'm all cartooney."

After almost five minutes of stunned silence, Jace raised his hand up to his face, "Is that Michael Jackson's famous dancing gloves?" he examined the glove he sported: white sparkling leather but fingerless.

He formed a fist and its crinkling sound echoed faintly in the Crystal Cave. He smiled under the mask, "AWESOME!"

"LIKE YOUR NEW LOOK?" Master Hand's voice boomed across the cave. The crystals shuddered at his every word, "IT'S A LITTLE OUTFIT I LIKE TO CALL WHITE KNIGHT ESSENTIALS. SUITS YOU NICELY. AND BECAUSE YOU WERE IN REAL WORLD GRAPHIC, I HAD TO ADJUST YOU TO FIT OUR WORLD. THINK OF IT AS A SOLUTION TO CULTURE SHOCK." He chuckled a bit, "CULTURE SHOCK…"

Jace then reached to his left side to feel his new sword. He gently pulled the sword out of its cold metal scabbard. Its unsheathing noise filled the cave. He examined the blade, glittering along the crystals at every corner.

"THE SWORD WAS HANDCRAFTED BY MY OWN HAND…" Master Hand cackled, "GET IT? MY _OWN_ HAND? SERIOUSLY. I SHOULD BE A COMEDIAN."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Yeah don't get your hopes up."

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

He quickly looked up, "Nothing."

"ANYWAY, TAKE OFF THAT MASK. THE TRANSFORMATION DID MORE THAN JUST A MAKEOVER."

Jace hesitated. What did Master Hand do to him now? The worst he could have done was remodeling his face and was afraid to see it, especially since he was now in SSB3D graphic model and not in his regular live-action heartthrob look. He removed the mask reluctantly. A stunned gasp left him unexpectedly, his sharp olive eyes gazed back, dazzled by wonder. Staring right at him was an older, taller Jace. His jaw lines were more defined and he had high cheekbones and peppered stubble. He could've sworn he saw a hint of dimples too.

"Whoa…" He moved his head from side to side. "I look older." His eyebrows raised, noting the deeper voice. "I _sound _older." A jaunty smile came across his face. "I am way too sexy."

"DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOURSELF NOW…" Master Hand warned, "TRUST ME. I'VE BEEN THERE."

Jace looked away from the reflection and up, picturing Master Hand gracing the atmosphere, "Hey, can I ask you something?" he said to the invisible air, "Remember when you told me that I was the only one who knew who was responsible for… you know, the Nintendo World?"

"YEAH, WHAT'S YOUR POINT?" the Hand replied.

"Well, I still don't know what happened to the Nintendo World, but being at that _Pokémon Mystery Dungeon_ plane in the body of Pikachu, I see that everything looked fine." His eyes narrowed warily, "What exactly _is_ your plan, Master Hand?"

"NO PLAN." The Hand's voice boomed, "JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT AND YOU'D GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT."

"But I still don't know what happened to it!" Jace protested, "I do know that the villains have this 3rd Dimensional Sphere and used it to banish most Nintendo characters to New York City and cursed most of the Nintendo world here."

"THERE IT IS RIGHT THERE!" Master Hand boomed. Jace could picture the giant hand pointing its large index finger at him, "YOU JUST PROVED IT TO ME THAT YOU DO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NINTENDO WORLD."

Jace blinked, "Wait… r-really? So that's all I needed to know?"

Master Hand laughed again, "OF COURSE THAT'S NOT ALL! YOU HAVE A DUTY TO FULFILL AS WHITE KNIGHT, JACEN RIDERS! MY BELOVED SON, SIMON, THE ORIGINAL WHITE KNIGHT, WAS UNFORTUNATELY NOT CHOSEN FOR THE TASK FOR HE DID NOT GET IN CONTACT BY THE 3RD DIMENSIONAL SCREEN. YOU DID."

"Simon? The Original White Knight?" Jace's eyes widened, "He's your son?"

"CREATED JUST FOR THE TASK AT HAND. OH BY THE WAY, THAT FACE YOU'RE CARRYING IS SIMON'S. NOT YOUR OLDER VERSION."

Jace blinked. He stared back at himself on the Crystal reflection, "Oh my gosh… wait a minute… are you saying that I'm chosen because…!" he turned back to the sky, "I'm your son too?!"

There was an awkward pause.

"I always was wondering why my dad don't look Italian or Japanese to me…" he muttered.

"NO YOU DOOFUS. YOU ARE NOT MY SON!" Master Hand barked, "BUT I DO ADMIT. YOU TWO LOOK A LOT ALIKE. THE ONLY REASON WHY YOU ARE CHOSEN IS BECAUSE YOU GOT INTO CONTACT WITH THE 3RD DIMENSIONAL SCREEN! SHEESH, JACEN RIDERS, KEEP UP WITH THE PROGRAM HERE!"

"Sorry." Jace winced, "Just wondering. And shouting out to the whole world that you're not my father kinda stung a little."

"SORRY…" Master Hand cleared his throat, "I'VE CREATED A LEGEND OF LORE, IN WHICH I DECLARED THAT SHOULD ANYONE, APART FROM MY SON SIMON, THE ORIGINAL WHITE KNIGHT, GET INTO ANY CONTACT WITH THE 3rd DIMENSIONAL SCREEN, AND COMES FROM A WORLD AS DIFFERENT AS THE NINTENDO WORLD, HE OR SHE SHALL BE NAMED THE WHITE KNIGHT, AND THEIR DUTY SHALL BE CARVED IN STONE."

"Carved in stone…?" Jace felt a huge lump on his throat, "…well, that's… fun."

"YES IT IS." Master Hand sang.

"So what's my duty?" Jace asked, "Saving the world? Solve those puzzles you spoke of?"

"OH-HO! YOU'LL SEE YOUR DUTY… ONCE YOU SURVIVE THIS NEXT FIGHT."

"Next fight?"

The whole Crystal Cave flashed, and Jace found himself in a darker version of the crystal cave. There were still the crystal light, but the air itself was thick black and only allowed the crystal light to faintly shine around him. The floor was all icy. The cold crisp air breezed by. The disappearing laughter of Master Hand was swiftly replaced by the moaning of a carnivorous beast.

Jace looked around, sensing the taunting moaning closing in everywhere he looked.

"Err… Master Hand? What's that moaning?"

No response from Master Hand. The moaning grew louder. He no longer could smell the sweet yet kinda chalky smell of crystals, but the smell of foul rotting flesh, closing in. He turned around. Nothing. His hand gripped tightly on the sword.

"Ok, Master Hand! Stop messing with me! Where is that beast?" Jace shouted out, staring at nowhere. His heart raced and his gripping hand were shaking.

The moaning grew louder again, this time it whispered behind Jace's ear. Jace whizzed around and he could've sworn he saw flashing pair of eyes, large enough to look like giant fish. He gasped. The eyes vanished.

Then in a split second, something heavy slammed him at the chest. A blast of pain shot through his body as he soared across the cave. The sword dropped from his hand as he crashed and rolled on the icy floor. He tried getting up quickly but the slippery floor made it impossible.

The moaning was heard again behind him. He turned around and there was the pair of eyes again, then another blast of pain across his lower back. He soared into the sky, screaming. Then just as he was about to land, another slam flew across his face and he once again found himself on the ground after he crashed through a series of icicle on the ceiling. Despite the armor, his entire body throbbed in pain. His unprotected perfect head had a long thin gash across his right cheek. He groaned, gazing at his blood painting the slippery white floor.

"OH I'M SORRY… WHERE ARE MY MANNERS…?" Jace thought he heard Master Hand's voice through the ringing of his ears. He furiously blinked his blurry vision as he tried to get up, "JACEN RIDERS, MEET YOUR NEXT MATCH, THE INVISIBRAWL. HALF POLAR BEAR. HALF BEHEMOTH. ALL INVISIBLE. ALL VICIOUS."

The loud groaning of the beast jumped behind him again. He didn't even had time to look up when another slam on his side sent him straight through a wall. The icy wall shattered and piles of icicle and crystals rained on him. He tried blocking with one arm but the sharp ices pierced his armor and sliced through his skin.

"CREATED JUST FOR THE THRILL OF TESTING YOUR SENSES. AND SEE IF YOU'RE CAPABLE OF SAVING THE NINTENDO WORLD."

Jace pushed away the debris, groaning, "wh-what are you…" he gasped, "…what are you… doing?"

He looked up again and saw the eyes, about a quarter of a distance away from where he lay. His heart drummed faster than ever. Last time he was this terrified was when he had to deal with the Freakish and Arbok! And those were recent events!

"JUST TRAINING YOU… HEIGHTENING YOUR SENSES. IF YOU'RE ABLE TO DEFEAT THIS INVISIBRAWL, WITHOUT RELYING ON TRYING TO SEE ITS PHYSICAL BODY, YOUR SENSES WILL HEIGHTENED AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT THE FREAKISH AND SAVE YOUR WORLD. DO YOU WANNA SAVE YOUR WORLD?"

Jace managed to pull out of the debris and struggled back to his feet. He went for his sword, but it wasn't attached to his hip. He didn't have it. He looked back at his enemy and the staring eyes of the Invisibrawl had vanished. Its moaning filled the cave. Jace looked around, breathing heavily as Master Hand laughed with delight.

**xXx**

**Back in New York City**

Mario quietly walked the busy street of New York, admiring the tall skyscrapers and the people going about their business; some still focused their attention on the Nintendo character. It's been too long since he and the Nintendo characters ended up in this world called Earth and this city called New York; and yet it still felt so surreal for the people to see CG characters walking their streets.

But Mario didn't mind the staring. He was getting used to it anyway.

"HEY MARIO!"

Mario jolted. He then let out a heavy sigh of relief seeing Luigi behind him. He still wasn't used to being jumped from behind though.

"Oy, Luigi!" he grumbled, "Can-a you please quit it? It's-a busy street! People can jump on other people! Like-a Bowser!"

"Aww," Luigi blushed, "you were afraid of me were-a you?"

Mario said nothing, but Luigi went on, "Don't-a matter anyway. HEY!" he scurried up to the front of Mario, stretched out his arms and struck a pose. "Guess what today's date is?" His huge smile never left his face.

Mario stopped. Blinking, he glared at his goofy brother still frozen on his pose. Luigi was now blinking, but his teething smile remained etched.

"Goofy day?"

Luigi straightened, no longer smiling, "What?" he shook his head, "NOOO!"

"Then I don't-a know." Mario was about to keep walking, but Luigi stopped him, "What do you mean you don't-a know your-a own _fratello compleanno? _It is-a my birthday!"

Mario blinked his large blue eyes, trying his best to hide the startling fact that he totally forgot his own brother's birthday. But Luigi's joyful face changed, "What? Don't-a tell me that you, my own twin flesh and blood, have forgotten my birth-a-day."

"What?" Mario's face reddened, "Of-a course I haven't forgotten your birth-a-day! It's-a the… the same birth-a-day as mine!"

"You're older than me."

"By one day! Big-a deal!"

"By big deal, you mean that big fat Mario-shaped cake and tons of confettis at the Miiverse?" Luigi hunched to one side, and he did that every time he was about to give Mario a scowling lecture, "And don't ever dare tell me you didn't have a birthday this year, because you were totally there on your surprise party doing to rumba with Palutena. And Pit was a witness. Here's an evidence."

Luigi reached behind Mario and yanked out of his butt a golden yet broken piece of light arrow. Mario yelped and rubbed his butt, one tear dangled at the corner of his eye.

"Boy, Pit sure can strike people with arrows. Even without a bow." Luigi tossed the piece of arrow over his shoulder.

"I'll-a tell you what, _mi fratello_. I'll buy you a really cool _regali."_

Luigi gasped dramatically, "A present? Really? You would do that for me? …ugh."

"Don't-a worry." Mario patted him on the shoulder, "You'll love it. I already have an idea what to get you."

xxx

"I have NO idea what to get him!" Mario voiced his panic to the Nintendo characters back at the Miiverse. The Italian plumber just updated his colorful group on how he had forgotten Luigi's birthday and promised him a gift before the day ended.

Jenn, Hunt, and Princess Peach exchanged a stunned look.

"How can you have forgotten your own brother's birthday?" Jenn scolded, "You obviously should've remembered!"

"Oh?" Hunt turned to Jenn defensively, "And I supposed YOU never forgotten a birthday?"

Jenn casually nodded, "Yes. Never."

"Then what's my birthday? And Jace's birthday?"

"August 10th 1994 and June 13th 1993." She said with confidence, "When's _MY_ birthday?"

Hunt felt all eyes on him at that question. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, "Uh… January…"

Jenn tipped her chin down with raised eyebrows. "February…" she shook her head, "…M-March… April…"

"You know what we can do?" Peach started, looking at Mario, "we can throw Luigi a surprise party at a mansion."

"DID SOMEONE SAY SURPRISE PARTY?!" the scream of Nerphi Glyph Peterson startled the group. Jenn breathed, patting her beating heart.

"Nerphi!" Hunt gnashed through his teeth.

"Who is that little drama queen?" Simon, who just came over, asked. But then Glyph wrapped her arms around Simon's slim neck, squealing, "HI JACE!" She gave him a sweet smile, but Simon's expression remained the same.

"…Nevermind." He uttered before pulling out of her embrace.

"Anyway," Peach turned to Jenn and Hunt, "Do you guys know of any mansions here in this world? It would've been nice to throw his surprise party at the Evershade Mansion but…"

"Right…" the group said collectively as a brief silence hung over them. Ever since the Nintendo villains got hold of the 3rd Dimensional Sphere and banished the characters from their home to New York, the Nintendo World has not been the same. A greater half of the world somehow got cursed and frozen in time. The Evershade Mansion was one of them.

Jenn gasped, a light dinged above her head. "I know!" The Nintendo characters turned to face her. "The Morris-Jumel Mansion!"

The group gazed at each other, their stares were blank. "HEIN?"

"It's this really old mansion not far from here." Hunt explained, "It once served the American Revolution. Our first US President George Washington used to live there. Y'know, before the White House!"

The Smash Bros. awed with interest.

"Is it haunted?" Pit beamed, sauntering over to the group with Link next to him, upon hearing the party plan, "Luigi _loves_ his mansions haunted."

Link raised an eyebrow, "Why would Luigi love his mansions haunted?"

"Have you seen his games? It's all about haunted mansions. They are all in the rave." He then looked down at Jenn and Hunt, "I'm pretty sure _you_ guys' mansions are bo-o-o-o-oring."

"HEY!" Jenn cried. "Our mansions aren't boring. At least my father's vacation home isn't boring! It has a gazebo and a butler named Wilshire!"

Pit couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Uh-huh. Yeah sure. Pssht!"

"Oh my gosh, I cannot believe you guys forgot Luigi's birthday's today." Glyph couldn't help but giggle, "I mean, he was BORN a day after you Mario! And we celebrated YOUR birthday yesterday!"

Mario glowered back at her. "I know. Don't rub it in to my face."

Hunt gasped again, turning to Jenn, "…is it May? Or is it June? I know it's either one of them."

Jenn shook her scowling head.

**xxx**

Hans was jogging down one corner of Central Park. Sweats stained his white undershirt. His iPod attached to the waistband of his blue shorts played his favorite Japanese rock song. By the time he reached the ramble stone arch, he stopped running. Two large figures have appeared from the other side of the arch, cornering his attempt to cross.

"Hello there, Hans."

Hans blinked. Still seeing the dots from all that running, he could've sworn the man talking to him was Harry Hanswood, still sporting his 'big-boned' red suit that matched his red combed-back hair. And next to him was _Punch-Out_ character King Hippo, still naked as the blinding sun—except for the orange and white sweatpants that doesn't seem to be hiding his bandaged navel that refuses to heal.

"Oh… it's you." He said with disappointment, "I was hoping I would avoid you moving in here."

"Tough luck." Harry snorted, "We still have some unfinished business."

"What do you want?"

"A rematch." Harry boasted and on cue, King Hippo pounded his two boxing gloved hands together, "And you know how much I hate losing."

King Hippo shot a spit at the ground, also proving his discontent. Harry scowled at the nastiness.

"Is this about your lucky streak?" a smirk passed to his lips, "Give me a break. You know with your skills you should've been a businessman and not a gambler. I mean let's be honest, you're not getting any younger."

Harry scowled. "I won't be as long as you're still breathing." On cue, King Hippo roared and bared his hippo-shaped teeth, "So let's have at it. King Hippo pounds you to a pudding, I get my streak back, and we're even."

"Here now?" Hans scoffed, "I don't think so. Ever heard of fighting fair?"

Harry stole a glance at Hans' undershirt and boxers, "What? No boxing gloves today?"

Hans pulled off the earbuds and playfully wrapped its cord around his fingers, "That's what I mean by fighting fair." He said, "See, I'm not the kind of guy ready to stoop to your navel…I mean, level."

King Hippo's bared teeth tightened. Hans didn't see it but he could feel smoke shooting out of his opponent's nostrils.

"Very well." Harry said, "Tonight, we fight. You, and you alone, versus King Hippo, at the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Heard there is going to be a party there. Some green blob birthday."

Hans raised an eyebrow. Did he meant Luigi? How insulting to call him that when _he_ was twice that size.

"Invite your friends," he said, "so they can witness your death."

Hans just smiled. He then turned to King Hippo, "Don't forget to sanitize that bump on your stomach on your way in. Luigi's _very_ picky in cleanliness."

King Hippo let out a furious roar. Harry gently patted him on the back. Hans put back his earbuds and turned the other direction, jogging without a care in the world.

**xxx**

**The Morris-Jumel Mansion**

There were tons of cars parked on the curb, before the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Some cars were limos, some were Hummers, but a large number of them were SUVs, four-seaters, and minivans. The Palladian architectural house stood tall before the thousands of people, old and new, crawling before it like ants, all wearing formals. The summer heat hung the evening sky and combos of Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi thundered from the mansion's backyard. It was like the famous music composers were brought back to life and having a concert. And Jenn should have enjoyed herself, listening to some of these glorious classics… if it wasn't for Hunt's constant nagging.

"September? October?" he cried out, literally to her ears, as she walked past a bounce house filled with kids. The bounce house itself looked eerily similar to the Gloomy Manor in _Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon._

"November? December?" Hunt eerily paused, "…are we back in January?"

"March!" she barked, wheeling toward him, "My birthday… is in March!"

"That's what _I've_ been saying!" Hunt argued.

Jenn slapped her forehead. All he had to say was he forgot her birthday, not hound her to prove a point. And knowing Hunt, he's _always _trying to prove a point. She turned back to him, "Okay. Now you know my month. What's the actual date?"

Silence hung over them again except for the loud Vivaldi Spring and the chattering of the party guests.

"March First? …err… Second?"

Jenn walked away.

"Third! Third!" Hunt barked, scurrying after her again, "I know it's the third!"

Simon briefly watched Hunt and Jenn on his way to the snacks table. There was a plate of green-frosted Snickerdoodle cookies, a bowl of green M&Ms, green bags of Jalapeno potato chips and a tower of Mountain Dew and Sprite cans waiting to be devoured by the hungry and happy guests.

But Simon's disgruntled look never left his features. It will be a matter of time until all that is not of the Nintendo World—including these snacks—will be reduced to ashes and the Nintendo World will be freed again. But he has to come up with a plan to achieve just that.

He reached for a handful of M&Ms just as Hans joined in. "What's with Jace over these past few days?" he asked.

Simon turn to give him a good stare. After a while he recognized him from past conversations with other of Jace's friends when Jenn and Hunt were present. He must be one of them too.

"Hans." He called him before fishing out a Mountain Dew from the can tower, "Good to see you again."

"Good to see you again?" Hans chuckled, "You looked like you were about to murder me there."

Simon took one gulp of the soda can, "Just having a rough day."

"Because of what happened back in London with the Freakish?"

Simon sighed from his nose. He never actually crossed path with the Freakish. Only the boy Jace—whose body he was currently occupying—was the one who did. The only thing that really happened much to his knowledge was that he awoke in that body in a tacky hospital bed and not in the Nintendo World in his heroic knight form. But because he's not supposed to tell it all to those folks except for his fellow Nintendo characters he had to play along.

"Yes. Because of what happened with the Freakish. But you know what, I'd rather not talk about it." He popped an M&M down his mouth, then immediately spat it back in his hand. "Oh," he cringed, "what the hell is this? Chocolate?"

Hans raised an eyebrow, "I thought you loved chocolate."

Simon dumped the candies back in the bowl, "Well, not anymore." He walked away. Hans looked at the bowl, a repulsed look settled over his features.

King Hippo approached the snack table, dressed up in a tuxedo suit, his crown never left his head and his menacing eyes never left Hans. He grabbed a bowlful of the M&Ms into his mega-sized hand.

"Careful." Hans warned, "I wouldn't eat that if I were you."

King Hippo shoved the candies down his throat and chomped, black drip of chocolate leaked from his lips.

Hans rolled his eyes, "Suit yourself."

**xxx**

**-Crossing Melt**

"When you mentioned we were going to have a barbeque at an Animal Crossing-themed restaurant, you weren't kidding." Pat told Luigi, her eyes never left the Villager from the game, who actually was their waiter, setting down a plate of crispy golden fries at the center of the table. His goofy boyish face never left his face even when he was staring at his two guests' stunned gazes.

Crossing Melt looked like an outdoor grill restaurant. People filled the tables which were stacked besides each other. Strings of white holiday lights hung every white parasol at the table, glowing under the starry evening night. The mouth-watery aroma of fresh spicy meat and golden potato fries filled the air.

Luigi scooped a fistful of the fries with the clean tonsils placed for the table, "Well, it is-a my birthday, y'know." He informed with an almost deadpan voice that expected the girls didn't care, "And I just wanted some company to have on this so-called special day."

"Oh! Is it today your birthday?" Maple said, trying to sound surprised, "I didn't know! Happy Birthday!"

Luigi just shrugged, "I'd say thank you, but you've already went to Mario's birthday party so you should've known mine was today so…" he blankly took a bite out of the fries. His blue eyes, now scrunched up, hovered over the girls' outfits, "And speaking of parties, why are-a you all dressed up like that?"

Pat and Maple sat beside each other, both elegant in white pencil skirts and low heels matching their blouses. Pat had a green blouse, and Maple had a red one.

"Going somewhere?" Luigi made a face.

Maple's eyes darted back and forth. "What? No! Of course not!"

"I have a date!" Pat blurted out. Luigi turned to see her pressing her lips tight and looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Really?" he asked, "With who?"

Pat's lips remained shut, afraid to shoot out a lie if she opened it but tormented for not being able to respond.

"Maybe you can invite him to join us." Luigi said, "Besides it's just the three of us, and now it'll be four."

Pat opened her mouth to speak, but all she could do was stutter, "Well… he's…"

"He's a _PlayStation_ fanboy!" Maple blurted out. Now Luigi looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Maple chuckled nervously, "I mean, you see… he's not the type of guy who wants to hang out with, you know, fans who love _Nintendo_."

"Then why are you dating him?" Luigi wrinkled his nose, a mix of hate and confusion crossed his face.

"It's just that…!"

"She loves him and he loves her." Maple interrupted, a goofy smile on her face, "See, it's all about love."

Pat's face was bright red, beaded with sweats, "Can we just stuff our face into this delicious plate of fries that Villager gave us?" she said, a hand reaching for a piece of it, but Luigi automatically slapped her hand away from it.

**xxx**

-**The Morris-Jumel Mansion**

Jenn would've grabbed that fruit punch bowl and dump it to Hunt's head, soaking him wet, when Glyph let out a high-piercing shriek that sounded like a Justin Bieber fangirl who just saw the celebrity coming up her front steps.

"He's coming! He's coming!"

Jenn's heart flipped. _Luigi was here already_?

"Everybody hides!" she shouted at the exact same moment as the crowd both in and at the mansion's backyard split up running like frightening squirrels at the sound of moving grass. Men dove under the snack tables. Woman slipped behind trees. Children curled up at the bounce house. As for the Nintendo characters, Mario and Peach flew headlong into a green pipe Mario had summoned. DK pounded the ground into a hole to take shelter in. Pit flew into the sky, dragging Link and Zelda along for the ride. Samus and Fox teleported together inside Samus's portal. Kirby morphed into a brick and Pikachu—who hates Pokeball—risked a chance in getting into one.

King Hippo, having no place to hide—and a mouthful of donuts—thought that standing still by the snack table would make a great hiding place. Harry Hanswood slipped right behind him. Hans who was perfectly comfortable behind a tree rolled his eyes at his rivals.

Hunt and Jenn glued their backs on a wall next to the mansion's entry, where Luigi was to come through it any second.

"It's February 14th is it?" Hunt said, "Valentine's Day?"

A sharp glare crossed Jenn's face.

"Oh right, I forgot." He muttered, "You're a March girl. So… March 14th?"

A shadowy figure slipped into the backyard before Jenn could blow her top. Instead she automatically Jenn leapt from the wall and was in front of the new guest.

"SURPRI—!"

The crowd leapt out of hiding and almost screamed "Surprise" as well, but cut themselves short. No Luigi. Only Little Mac and his trainer Doc Louis. Mac donned in a green hoodie instead of his usual pink one.

The party mansion was tomb silent. Even the crickets had stopped chirping.

Someone coughed.

"Looks like y'all having a party." Don Louis said, breaking the long-dreary silence.

"DON LOUIS!" Harry Hanswood pulled out from behind King Hippo and approached Little Mac's trainer with open arms. "So good to see you pal! Now let's talk business."

Hans watched him shake hands with the stocky boxing trainer. A questionable twist formed at the corner of his mouth. "Don Louis?" he stepped forward, "Why would you shake hand with the man who is training the rival of your so-great, so-called King Hippo?"

He studied them further. King Hippo kept pounding his fists together and Little Mac scanned his rival with a disgusted look. Both boxers found no trouble staring at each other like a cat that can't blink. "I mean let's be honest. They clearly don't like each other."

"Of course they don't!" Hanswood laughed like a roaring thunder. "And they don't like losing either! Which is why I asked the Don Louis to make this a 2-on-1 betting competition. Winner takes all! It's Little Mac and King Hippo… versus you." He said the last two words with a more victorious tone.

Hans gawked. And he wasn't the only one. Little Mac and King Hippo stared back like they just got punched in the gut, and so did the party crowd.

**xXx**

**_Navi: HEY! LISTEN! How about we take a short break, ya? And then we can get back to the adventure!_**

**xxx**

The color had drained from Hans's face. He didn't know what he should be more terrified of: the unfair 2-on-1 match that fatso Asian gambler had settled against him, or the fact that this match is placed on a 1 million dollars-1 million yen bet… on both Mac and Hippo!

_His_ winning bet was a penny and a piece of Strident gum. Used. It had a horse hair on it.

"One million dollars and One million Yen? Are you INSANE?" Hans heard Jenn scream at the stocky mafia man.

"I call shotgun on Mac and Hippo!" Hunt tugged his arm up the sky, practically shouting out his choice like a sugar high kid asking for candy.

"You can't shotgun on Mac and Hippo. You have to _vote_ for Mac and Hippo." Jace informed his friend in his strange mature voice.

Hunt raised his palms in surrender, "Hey man, I don't know gambling. So I just do what I see fit."

"You can't-a do this gambling business here." Mario argued, his high Italian accent evident of his frustration, "It is-a my _fratello _birthday today!"

"And he is-a not here!" Harry balked, his voice pitching a false Italian falsetto as if to mock the Nintendo All-Star, "Seriously Mario, you should've thrown his birthday like yesterday on _your_ birthday."

The crowd exclaimed an _ooh _of surprise. Mario's eyebrow twitched with rage.

"So why not celebrate _this _event," Hanswood went on, "with a defeat I've been screaming for all my life!"

"Uh… your defeat?" Hans said, trying to sound bold even though his heart felt heavy on his throat and his palms were sweating.

King Hippo smashed the snacks table in half and all the juice bowl and cookies flew skyward and created a mess on the grass. Everyone jumped back away from his outrage. The hippo roared like a lion.

Little Mac unzipped his sweatshirt to reveal his black tank top and green boxing shorts and boots matching his top. He adjusted fighting position just as Don Louis attached his boxing gloves to his fists.

Hans had no problem dealing with King Hippo. He was fat, stupid and his chronically wounded navel was his only weakness. But Little Mac was a completely different story. He never even defeated him, let alone battling him. In the game, sure. But in real life…?

He swallowed hard, already picturing his tombstone. Hans: 1996-2013. For being stupid to battle both King Hippo and Little Mac. R.I.P. Retarded in Pieces.

One minute, the Morris-Jumel Mansion was filled with people and Nintendo characters from all over. Then the next minute, the mansion was filled with people, Nintendo characters, and reporters. Chatters grew to exciting roars. Camera flashbulbs flickered from once-a-moment sparkles to furious blasts. The mansion's backyard now had a full-size boxing ring perched right in the middle.

Journalists from all over unleashed a volley of questions at Harry Hanswood, the loud-mouthed King Hippo, the tiny Little Mac, and Doc Louis who for the very first time in his life was silent. Too stunned for words and unable to fathom the fact that his boxing trainee was fighting a match _with_ his rival and not _against_ his rival.

"See? When we make the money, we make the money, see?" he said to one reporter before turning away from the cameras and to the ring, "All right, team!" he barked at King Hippo and Little Mac, "Form it!"

The two rivals stepped into the ring together, their eyes never left each other. Cheers erupted in the backyard at their presence. The cheering was soon reduced to boos and mocking jeers once Hans stepped into the ring from the opposite side. One from the crowd even went too far to say, "You're going down, puss brain."

"We'll see about that." Hans whispered, taking combat pose.

The boxing bell ringed.

King Hippo charged with a thrust of his fist. Hans moved right under him, like moving water. He threw a punch right on Hippo's stomach. Hippo spewed out a loogey.

Hans wheeled behind Hippo and drove two fists down his head. Hippo landed flat on his face.

Hans turned and watched Little Mac threw a forward punch, connecting his jaws. Hans stumbled back, dizzy. The punch had messed up his vision.

"Go little Mac!" the crowd cheered on.

Little Mac went for Hans's guts and swung. A blast of pain whipped from his abdomen through his body. He threw it again. Hans gasped. Another punch, and Hans went on his knee, tasting blood between his protected teeth.

"Oh my! Little Mac is beating the crap out of Hans! Talk about embarrassing for our loser boxer!"

Fury suddenly erupted through Hans's veins when he heard that journalist. He was NOT a loser! Just as Little Mac was about to finish him with a swing across his face, Hans blocked it. He connected his boxing glove with Mac's.

Mac was stunned for a second and Hans moved in for an uppercut. He shot his fist skyward and watched Little Mac fly to the other side of the ring. The crowd erupted with cheers. Harry Hanswood screamed in distress, "NOOO!"

Hans approached Little Mac who was quickly getting up. Suddenly he felt two heavy boxing gloves pound his sides and restrained him. King Hippo had recovered. Hans struggled but the gloves squeezed him hard like a vise. He howled in pain.

Little Mac saw his opportunity. He approached Hans and threw a punch across his opponent's jaws. He threw another punch. Then another punch. Hans felt every connection like a hammer slamming on a metal-protected skull. Blood and tears of anger dripped from Hans's face. Now he knew what a boxing dummy felt like.

Little Mac moved back, his fist behind him. Hans could have sworn he saw his boxing glove glowing like a star. Star Punch was coming!

The crowd leaned forward, at the edge of their seat.

Little Mac threw it at Hans. But Hans moved down at the very last second. The punch connected on King Hippo's face. The fatso boxer let go off Hans and flew over the boxing ropes. The crowd gasped.

Hans crawled behind Little Mac. He could have attacked him, surprised him. But Little Mac was too stunned to move. Too shocked to what he just did. The crowd felt silent. Hanswood had his jaws dropped.

"Oh my… did Little Mac just knocked out his boxing partner?"

"You've GOT to be KIDDING ME!" Hanswood screamed.

King Hippo threw his arm over the boxing rope, slowly crawling back to his feet. His attention no longer was on Hans, but on Little Mac. Rage crackled in his eyes.

"ROOOOAAAARS!"

King Hippo leapt over the rope and landed back in the ring, the floor quaked on contact.

Little Mac stunned expression turned to a nervous grin. "Sorry…" he muttered.

King Hippo charged, smoke shooting out of his nostrils like a bull. He threw a punch. Mac dodged. He threw another. Mac slid behind him. The hippo turned around and Mac blocked his face just as King Hippo started swinging for it. One power punch and Little Mac pushed back. The Hippo recoiled and Little Mac went for the Hippo's guts.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU NITWIT?" Hanswood barked, "YOU'RE ATTACKING THE WRONG OPPONENT, BAKAYARU! THE _WRONG_ OPPONENT!" he pointed at Hans, "ATTACK HIM! HIM!"

Hans saw his chance. He scrambled back to his feet as Mac was punch Hippo's stomach. As Hippo stepped back from his new opponent's attacks, Hans gently tapped his shoulder. He turned around and Hans swung an uppercut. King Hippo landed on the ground like a stone.

The crowd roared with cheers. Hans and Little Mac high fived. Harry roared, "NOOOOOOO!"

While the grownups and the boxing wannabes paid attention to Punch Out characters and an Asian boxing guy beating the crap out of each other, one ten-year old kid joined his friends bouncing their way to silliness at the bounce house. His smile never left him ever since he discovered his little treasure just a few minutes ago.

"Hi Joshy!" one of the kids called him. She was a girl and she had a crush on him.

"Why are you smiling? You're creepy." The second one of the kids asked with a frown. He was practically his best friend who was always negative.

The kids stopped bouncing when the kid didn't stop smiling. Their attention had turned to one hand stuffed securely in his pocket like he was trying to protect something.

"Whatchu got there?" the girl finally asked him.

"Oh, I think you're gonna love it." The kid finally fished the object out of his pocket. It was a device, with two small cam lens by its edge. Its coating was gleaming shiny red and it has the Smash symbol engraved on it. With two fingers secured at the device top, he slowly flipped it open. The kids' attention were now on the device, as if hypnotized by its glamour.

"Is that…?" one of the kids gasped.

"It can't be…" one of the girls gasped.

"This is it, gentlemen and ladies." the kid declared, "The magical Nintendo 3DS."

It took Simon one look away from the boxing spectacle to see a bunch of kids at the bounce house. And one of them had the object he has thought of seeking, but never got the chance to go through it. It was gleaming red. It had two screens, like a Nintendo DS, only it had a circle pad and the top screen was slightly bigger. His eyes widened.

"The 3rd Dimensional Screen…" he gasped, "The one legendary object able to reverse its counterpart 3rd Dimensional Sphere's powers only by the White Knight…" his face darkened, "…in the hands of more kids?"

He stepped out of the crowd and strutted toward the bounce house, "HEY, YOU!" he shouted.

The kid with the 3DS turned on the device and that's when it happened. The device screen took on a shimmering glow and everything turned white like the sun itself has crashed the party. Layers of radiant red, gold and white shot out of the screen like spotlight beams, then followed by an explosion of whiteness added with siren-like piercing sound of a wheeze. All eyes have turned to the light and everything felt like in a slow-pacing motion. People shut their eyes tight, covered them with arms and hands and even their whole bodies curled over, but they still couldn't find darkness despite the blindness. In seconds the whiteness overwhelmed the bounce house, then the boxing ring, then the entire backyard…

**xxx**

"We're heeeeere~!"

Maple and Pat had dragged the blindfolded Luigi down the Morris-Jumel Mansion's front steps.

"Are we in a mansion?" Luigi asked, feeling the hardwood floor of the porch creaking underneath him, "It better not be haunted."

"It's not haunted but it's ancient." Pat cooed.

"Ready?" Maple grinned from ear to ear. With one swing of the door, the trio stepped in. Pat untied Luigi's blindfold and the girl shouted, "SURPRIIII—!"

Their squeals quickly died at the sight of the empty mansion. Stained napkins littered the floor. The windows flapped open like paper. There was nobody in sight.

"Well," Pat began, breaking the howling silence, "Either we're late for the party, _or _the party is late for you." She laughed at her own jokes, nudging Luigi by the arm.

"Don't touch me." Luigi scowled.

**xxx**

Jace slipped into a corner of the tundra cave, his newly armor as battered and bruised as his face. His back lay on the ice-cold wall in hiding, panting and wondering his next move.

"MUAH! HA! HA! HA! HA! YOU CAN RUN ALL YOU WANT, WHITE KNIGHT JACEN. BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM TERROR!" Master Hand roared.

"Yeah? But _I _can!" Jace shouted back, even though he really didn't believe it himself. The invisibrawl could very well be breathing right in front of him. Made him wonder if hiding at plain sight was even worth the trouble.

"Oh really?" Master Hand's taunting chuckle confirmed his doubt. He pulled out of hiding and stepped out into the open, sword raised.

"All right beast, where are you?" he shouted, the grip on his sword tightened.

_"COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREEVER YOU ARE…" _Master Hand sang.

A cold blast of air crawled Jace's neck from behind. He wheeled around and saw the eyes again. Without a moment's hesitation he swung the blade. The air ripped open like a torn fabric. A blast of blood shot out of it, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

He swung again, and another fabric tore the air and more scream followed. Immediately the monster slowly materialized, camouflaged out of thin air in a black ball of hairy legs, the shape of a giant tarantula. Jace froze, like he just got turned into statue. The only part of him moving was his shaking teeth.

The tarantula lunged at him. Its pincers drove right under his feet and lifted, thrusting Jace airborne. Jace flailed his arms in panic, suspended in the air and about to land on the spider's back. An idea quickly clicked. He clutched the blade, adjusted falling position to diving position and drove the blade down the spider's back.

A slice was heard. A roar filled the cave. The creature thrashed around as gooey mucus erupted from the creature's hairy wound like a volcano. Jace rolled off the spider until he hit the floor in a thud.

A huge shadow cast over him. He slowly turned around and watched the spider pacing dizzily. He had a bad feeling churning his stomach. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran and the spider toppled to the floor in an earth-shattering thud, right where Jace had been.

Jace stared at the dead invisibrawl, breathing shakily.

"CONGRATULATION, YOUNG WHITE KNIGHT." Master Hand bellowed, " NOW AS PROMISED, HERE'S YOUR MISSION YOU ARE TASKED TO CARRY ON."

Four golden pieces of a circle flicked before Jace in an eye blink. The four pieces swirled and danced in the air until they formed the Smash Symbol. "FIND THE FOUR SMASH PIECES. AND YOU'LL SUMMON THE FINAL SMASH."

Jace stared briefly at it, "Final Smash?"

"THE GREAT METEOR…" Master Hand spoke dramatically. "THE KEY TO RESTORING THE NINTENDO WORLD INTO ITS FORMER GLORY. AT THE COST OF THE FORMER REALM YOU CALL: PLANET EARTH."

Jace watched the Smash Symbol transforming into a moving image. And what Jace saw widened his eyes in alarm. His shaky breathing escalated. A great meteor the size of Planet Earth itself collided with the planet and both sphere violently shook. The planet cracked and shot out lava at every split corner before his very eyes.

Jace's heart pounded furiously at the very sight of it.

"Oh god…" he scrambled back to his feet, stepping back from the now fading image, "No, no, no, no, no… you want me to destroy Planet Earth? My _own _world? My own home?"

Master Hand said nothing.

Jace shook his head, "No! Never! I will NEVER do this!"

A flick of light and a twist of the air before Jace morphed to reveal Master Hand before him.

"WHAT?" The godly voice bellowed from the hand, its fingers curled up like a claw before him to express anger. Jace took a step back, feeling his heart clogged on his throat like a heavy rock.

"What… did you say boy…?" Master Hand whispered a strained voice as cold as death.

Jace swallowed, "Y-You heard me!" he said, his voice in octave, "I'm not gonna destroy my own world just to save the Nintendo World! All right? That is not a duty of mine. And definitely not a duty of the White Knight!"

Master Hand floated over him. Hovering like a stalking shadow. Jace grew more and more nervous.

"C-Come on man, you gotta understand. I want the Nintendo World to return to its former self." He shook his head again, "But not like this."

Silence again.

A resenting sigh left from the hand. "VERY WELL…" he said, "GUESS YOU HAVE NO CHOICE." The hand paused, "AND SO DO I."

The hand pointed at Jace as if a gun and its laser shot struck him right on his chest. Jace collapsed on his knees as the laser pain as sharp as a double-edged sword sunk into his beating heart. He tried to breathe but he could only gasped, sharp shallow gasps, in anguish.

"NO MATTER HOW MUCH, HOW LONG, YOU RESIST. IT IS YOUR DUTY. YOUR DESTINY. YOU WILL FIND THE FOUR PARTS OF THE SMASH SYMBOL. AND IF YOU DON'T…"

Master Hand curled up his fingers. Jace watched his heart pulled out of his chest. His ashen face stared at the sight of it. His throat was closing.

"…YOUR GAME WILL BE OVER. LITERALLY."

"H-Help…" he croaked.

"READY TO FOLLOW MY LEAD NOW? YOUR DESTINY?"

Jace's eyes watered. He couldn't say anything as he was clamming. He could only shake his head or nod, accept that crazy fate. Right now he was dying. So he had no choice but go for the latter.

He nodded.

The hand finally stopped pointing. The laser released his heart and the heart dove right back into Jace's body. Jace fell on one knee, breathing heavily.

Quickly he tapped on his armor to see if it was damaged. Nothing, but his fingers felt something engraved on it. It was the Smash symbol, carved on the chest of the armor plate. "…what did you do to me? Tried to tattoo my chest with a hot iron bar?"

"NOPE. JUST CURSED YOU. NO MATTER THE CHOICE YOU MAKE, YOU WILL FULFILL YOUR DESTINY OF DESTROYING THAT WORLD YOU CALL EARTH. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL COST YOU YOUR LIFE. AND THAT OF OUR BELOVED NINTENDO RESIDENTS. FOR THEY TOO WILL PERISH ALONG WITH A BARREN BROKEN NINTENDO WORLD."

Jace sighed in distress as Master Hand laughed in the background. All he could whisper in his mind was that this was wrong, this was so wrong…

**xXx**

**Here's some Super Smashing Scenes from the Next Episode**

- Warning! New Challengers Approaching: Captain Falcon of the Nintendo World and Romeo Skyhawk of Planet Earth, involved in a rival race!

- Also the SSB3D most recent newcomers: Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, and Megaman, will all make their together debut in this episode.

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**Next Episode:: **_Grand-Prix, Grand Debut, in 3D_

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**Author's Note: **For the sequel, **Super Smash Bros. Universe, **go to "bit . ly /SSB-U" (remove the spaces). Check out new episodes periodically.

Also available on Wattpad. Download the Wattpad app on your mobile phone and use this code '5135457' for **SSB3D** and '5912575' for **SSBU** on the search bar.

Please review. Let me know what you think. **Flames will be deleted automatically and I will report the flamer, guest or not.**


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